


Consequences Last Forever

by Bratist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Races, Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Gen, Magic-Users, Neutral Route (Undertale), No Resetting, Other, Pacifist Route (Undertale), Underfell Flowey (Undertale), Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underfell Toriel (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:46:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28139400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bratist/pseuds/Bratist
Summary: Frisk is in Underfell! But... That's not Frisk. And there's two of them. Tara and Tyler made a mistake and now they must pay the consequences. Their punishment is simple. Survive the Underground and escape. But each has different rules they must abide by. Tara may not harm a single creature in the Underground while Tyler just simply may not kill a single creature.In the Underground first, Tara has the assistance of a talking flower who thinks her name is 'Frisk,' but her twin brother is left making his way through without guidance. But who are these mysterious humans who have fallen into the Underground? And why are they being punished in the first place? Furthermore, how are they expected to survive when every single being seems to want to kill first and ask questions later?*This is my own twist on the Underfell Universe*
Relationships: Frisk (Undertale) & Original Character(s), Sans (Underfell) & Original Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. The Ruins

**Author's Note:**

> So 2020 decided to kick my teeth in and remind me of my place in the world. That being said, I have not been able to get this story idea out of my head involving Undertale (Underfell edition) with original characters over just using simple Frisk. I mean, two is better than one? The biggest scene that constantly flicked through my head is the final confrontation with Sans v Frisk at the end of the genocide route, but with Frisk unable to fight back and unable to reset to keep fighting if she makes a mistake.
> 
> So the way this is going to go is as such: The bulk of each chapter will be told by Tara(Frisk) as she makes her way through each section of the Underground while the ending bits will be told by Tyler(Frisk) as he follows his sister and struggles to catch up to her. I hope you enjoy!

“ _You lied to us!” I hissed from behind my teeth, struggling to move against the magic that held me firmly in place. Andrew laughed at me, shaking his head._

“ _I didn’t lie you pathetic g_ _irl_ _. You simply chose to believe your own version of my words! Malik will indeed save us all and he’s our only hope. How else can humanity be truly safe if not without his iron grasp leading us? And you, beautiful Tara, should feel honored that he chose to call you his bride.” Andrew’s eyes slipped to look at my brother, frozen against the same magic behind him. “And you Tyler, his sword!”_

“ _You think we’re simply okay with having our free will stripped away?” Tyler growled, his t_ _eeth gnashing together_ _. Andrew shrugged at that._

“ _And you think we’re okay with you both trying to gain such free will back? So punishment must be rendered.” Andrew sighed dramatically and turned back towards me, stroking his hand down my jaw. I snapped at his hand unsuccessfully. “Now, now Tara. Let’s not give in to our baser instincts. A few rules you should be aware of for the realm you will be locked into. You may not harm a single creature, not even in self-defense. He wants you as pure as you are now, after all. If you want to escape, you must make your way through this… Underground… Swiftly.”_

“ _Why would I bother to follow your rules?” I demanded, trying to twist my magic quickly enough to free myself._

“ _Because your precious twin will be going to the same place, though at a slightly different time. And while he is allowed to protect himself, though he may not kill a single creature, if you were to harm anything… Anything at all… A sprite would be given the ability to take over his body and control him. The same goes for if you, Tyler, take a life of a single creature.” I almost had it. Just a little longer… “Let’s see how long that stubborn streak will last when your down in the pits before you’re calling out to Malik for saving.” A bright flash of light, the sensation of falling…_

Tara woke up with a groan, face-down on a pile of yellow flowers. Her face twisted in pain as she rolled herself up, vision blurry from her fall. Her eyes landed on her feet and she could only stare.

She was wearing shoes. White sneakers with white socks. Her eyes drifted up her bare legs to see she was also wearing jean shorts that stopped at about mid-thigh with the ends rolled up. She also wore a blue sweatshirt with two hot pink horizontal stripes across her chest that almost seemed to call attention to her breasts.

As her vision cleared and she came back into her own mind, she rushed over to a nearby puddle, staring into the water. A scream was forced back as she stared at her own reflection. That was not her face! Her usually long hair was short and brunette, her eyes were a simple brown color and her _ears_! Her fingers ran themselves over the rounded ears as tears formed in her eyes. Her perfect and beautiful ears were gone! Replaced with… With… _They’re hideous!_ Her mouth opened and she finally allowed the tears to fall as she realized her teeth were white, straight, and blunt. _What did that vile mage do to me?!_

With a start, she jerked her head up and held a shaky hand in front of her. Effortlessly, her magic flared up and a gorgeous white flame danced in her hand. She sighed in relief and pulled that small magic flame close to her heart as if it were a child for her to nurture. With the knowledge that she was at least still in possession of her magic, her determination set in place and she nodded firmly to herself.

Tara stood slowly, steeling herself. She may not have looked it anymore, but her blood was still the same. _I must press on. For myself, for my brother, and for my people. I must right my mistake._

~ ~ ~

Tara wandered into the new room, staring at the quivering yellow flower in the center. That flower… Had a face. Interesting. Its petals were wilting and torn in a couple of places. Her heart almost immediately went out to the poor creature as it appeared to try and hold itself up strongly against her.

“W-who are you?” the flower demanded, a child-like voice leaving its mouth. “D-don’t come any closer! I’ll… I can fight!” Small bits of white magic appeared around the flower. Tara could feel how weak the magic was. With one swipe of her hand, she could wipe away the magic and the flower. But she didn’t want to harm the poor thing and she certainly didn’t want to scare it by taking away its power. Instead, she raised her hands to show she meant no harm and gave the flower a gentle smile.

“Hello there, my name is Tara. I’m not here to hurt you. You see I fell and now I’m looking for a way out,” she said as gently as she was able, keeping a healthy distance. The flower blinked.

“You fell?” She nodded. “So you’re human?” She internally winced at the distinction.

“Close enough.”

“Then you need to get out, this place is dangerous!” The magic surrounding the flower faded away and it gestured for her to move closer. She moved to squat next to it, brushing her fingers over its damaged petals.

“Are you alright little one?” she asked. It winced but waved a leaf at her.

“I’m fine. I’m tough. I’m Flowey the Flower. I used to have a body, like you, but… Now I don’t. I’m the protector of the Underground! I protect all the weak monsters from the strong monsters!”

“Flowey then. If you’d like, I can help patch you up.” Flowey frowned at her offer.

“You would need magic to do that.” She nodded and smiled brightly.

“Something I have plenty of.” An image of the runes appeared in her mind as she drew her fingers across those petals. A pretty white light spread from her finger and seeped into the flower, knitting the torn petals back together. It brightened the yellow color, removing the wilting, and strengthened the plant. Once the healing was complete, she pulled her finger away and sighed in peace.

“You have magic, like me,” Flowey stated almost breathlessly. Tara nodded and smiled. “You might actually be able to escape this place! I… I can lead you to the barrier to help you get out, but you have to promise to take me with you! Please!”

“Certainly, but what about protecting the weaker monsters in this place?” she asked gently, frowning. Flowey shrugged and a look of sorrow passed over its face.

“I think I’m the last of us who haven’t lost their mind to violence. It’s been so long since I’ve simply spoken to someone.”

“Alright then. Let’s depart then.”

“Let’s go, Frisk! Onward to freedom!” _They even took my name…_ Pushing back the pain of that thought, Tara gently scooped up the flower and the mound of dirt under it, placing it carefully into a pocket on the front of her sweatshirt. And so she and Flowey began to venture into some ruins that lay before her.

~ ~ ~

“Frisk be careful!” Flowey hissed in Tara’s ear. She froze at his words, glancing down the dark hall. There was something skittering in the dark. “It’s a monster. You’ll have to fight it!” _I can’t fight it, not unless I want to condemn my brother to being nothing more than a puppet!_ The thought had barely finished before an odd-looking frog leaped at her face.

Her feet were moving before her mind processed the action, old reflexes springing to life. Her hands waved in front of her and she ejected Flowey from her pocket and planted him in some nearby dirt with a protective shield around him. The sound of ribbits filled her ears as she found herself surrounded by these frogs. Maybe ten, fifteen?

“Get ‘em, Frisk!” Flowey cheered from his bubble.

“Human,” one croaked.

“Tasty,” another spouted.

“Fight us.”

“No,” she stated firmly, standing her ground. They attacked at once, launching themselves at her. She spun around the attacks, moving elegantly as she twirled. She jumped over one, her hands tracing runes in the air and her feet tracing runes in the dirt. “Why do you want to fight?”

“Not like us!”

“Different from us!”

“Trapped us!”

“Frisk why aren’t you fighting?” Tara took a deep breath as her mind raced. Her runes in the air lit up the area, and the ones she drew in the dirt created a simple pond. The frog creatures paused at this, staring at the pond.

“What is it?”

“Water?”

“Home?”

“Yes, it is a home for your types. Not stuck above on dry land,” Tara promised. “You can swim and I can make more. But if you eat me, I can’t create a bigger home for you to enjoy.” The frogs paused as they considered this. One, bravely, hopped forth and slipped into the pond she had created. It submerged and the anger it seemed to feel almost appeared to drain away into the water. When it surfaced, there was almost a white glow around it and it looked peaceful.

“Froggit is not angry, Froggit is home. Human girl make it bigger for all Froggit kind?” it asked, blinking up at Tara. Tara nodded as the other frogs slipped into the water.

Flowey looked on in amazement as Tara began tracing runes all across the room, creating a wetlands environment in the room and the next three. Soon, a flowing pond and small river stretched through the rooms until the frogs determined it would be big enough for all Froggit kind. Then, and only then, did the frogs allow her to take Flowey and leave peacefully.

“It would’ve taken less time and magic if you’d just fought them,” Flowey pointed out. Tara shrugged.

“Then I’d just continue the cycle of hate and violence. It’s worth it if, in the long run, they are at peace. This is worth the magic.”

“You’re an odd human Frisk.”

“That’s one way to look at it. Come, let us push on.”

The next couple of rooms had basic puzzles that Tara’s magic allowed her to virtually bypass. A few other monster encounters came up, which Tara handled simply. Each monster was different in some way and took a different approach to appease. One monster type that had a single eye wouldn’t back down until she proposed a staring contest, the loser had to do what the winner wanted.

It tried to cheat by attacking her in the middle of the contest, so she threw sand in its eye. When it blinked rapidly, Flowey announced her the winner. She asked it to give up its anger and remember a time filled with peace and happiness. As it begrudgingly did as she requested, a memory seemed to take over and it, much like the frogs, began to glow with a white light as a look of peace came over it.

Another was a monster with moth-like wings that buzzed menacingly. It didn’t seem to truly want to fight, but it did, constantly screeching that it wouldn’t be left in the dark any longer. So she fed her magic into the structure and brought in light, letting the room be filled with an ethereal glow. When she did this, the creature sighed in immediate relief and thanked her as it was able to find its family after years apart.

Her feet were dragging from all her magic use and dodging of attacks that she nearly collapsed in relief when Flowey gently suggested taking a break in a room he knew to be completely safe and hidden from monsters.

“You’re expending your energy too quickly,” Flowey chastised her as he grew out his roots to wrap her comfortably in a mock bed, using his leaves to cover her like a blanket.

“I’m just not used to this form yet,” she mumbled, exhaustion seeping through her bones. She felt her eyes getting heavier. Flowey frowned.

“This form?”

Tara yawned. “A mage took away my real form, took away my real name. I’ll get stronger, I just have to get used to the change.”

Flowey was silent for a minute or two. “Get some rest, I’ll keep you safe this time,” he said gently. Tara muttered something noncommittal and let her eyes shut as sleep took her.

~ ~ ~

As Flowey watched over Frisk’s sleeping form, her words came to him. _“A mage took away my real form, took away my real name…”_ And for a moment, he could see past the body that lay before him. It was only for a moment, but in that second he wasn’t seeing a young human girl… He saw a young woman, but she certainly wasn’t human. There was an unearthly beauty to her that drew him in and his soul stuttered at the image. Long and flowing hair, pale and glowing skin, and a large brand across her left shoulder that resembled a dragon.

“I’ll protect you,” he swore, even as he saw the girl again. “You are too pure for this world of darkness.”

~ ~ ~

“ _Tara! Now!” I glanced over to see Tyler fighting three guards at once, his armor seeming to absorb the light from the sun. I took the chance and bolted from m_ _y_ _hiding spot to the tomb. M_ _y_ _feet danced and m_ _y_ _white robes spun around m_ _y_ _ankles as the archers attempted to hit me_ _. Arrows flew by and I_ _jumped into the hole that led to the darkened tomb. M_ _y_ _hands swiftly traced runes in the air, creating a barrier just under the hole so nothing else could enter._

“ _You know not what you do, young one,” a single guard told me_ _. He was standing beside the stone coffin that contained the god. “You know not what you call upon.”_

“ _If this god can save my people, I do what I must,” I stated firmly._

“ _Your people are happy as they are. Why do this?”_

“ _Because war is coming. My people would be ravaged.”_

“ _And why do you believe war is coming? War comes if you awaken this one. Peace remains as long as he is left sleeping.”_

“ _You will not trick me,” I stated arrogantly. “The mage has shown me the visions. I will do what I must.”_

“ _Then do so. And never claim that you were not warned.” The guard stepped aside, allowing m_ _e_ _to approach the coffin. I eyed him suspiciously, but I pulled the glowing gem from m_ _y_ _mystic pouch and inserted it into the coffin. A bright purple light filled the room and the lid of the coffin slid off… Then there was only searing pain as a brand was burned into m_ _y_ _left shoulder and down m_ _y_ _arm. Only that pain mattered as the God of War rose from his slumber._

~ ~ ~

Tara and Flowey moved through the Ruins quickly, pausing only for a moment so Tara could save a spider that had fallen out of its web. She realized that ignoring the spider wouldn’t have gone against the ‘doing no harm’ rule, but her blood couldn’t allow her to ignore such a heart-wrenching cry for help that the spider had unleashed. Thus far, the rule didn’t seem to hold much weight to her. It wasn’t a struggle to decide to help these poor creatures vice harm them. A puzzle to figure them all out, for certain, but not an impossible task. Her brother would have more trouble if his rules were as restrictive.

“Be careful up ahead,” Flowey warned her.

“Why, what’s wrong?” she asked with a frown, her footsteps slowing.

“We’re coming up on the territory of Toriel. She’s crazy, thinks everyone is her dead children. She tries to kidnap any she can and… Well if they don’t look close enough to her children, she tries to make them look like her children,” Flowey explained. Tara nodded and pulled in a breath, steeling herself for the encounter.

Before that, however, she found herself standing in front of a sleeping ghost that completely blocked her path. A strong magic kept her from simply passing through the ghost, despite the fact that it was a _ghost_. With a sigh, she traced a counter-rune in the air and pushed her magic into it. As the magic barrier fell, the ghost woke with a start and snarled at her.

“You dare wake me?” it demanded.

“You were in my way,” she countered, crossing her arms defiantly. It jerked back in shock.

“You… You’re not scared of me…”

“Why would I fear a ghost? A simple push with my mind and you’d be nothing.”

“You’re bluffing!”

“Am I? I did just take down your barrier. So if you want to fight, then by all means. Try me.” They stared each other down as if daring the other to give an inch. Then the ghost blinked at her.

“I’m Napstablook,” it introduced. She nodded respectfully.

“I am Tara.”

“Frisk? That’s a weird name.” She swallowed the immediate correction of her name, knowing it was just another way Andrew was trying to psychologically torment her.

“Like Napstablook isn’t a weird name?” The ghost chuckled at her response.

“I like you. You’re bold.”

“I try my best to please, living and dead alike,” she replied with a smirk. Napstablook gave a nod and slid to the side.

“Good luck little girl. I look forward to seeing how far that boldness will take you in this twisted world.”

~ ~ ~

As the Frisk girl moved past Napstablook, he blinked and jerked in shock. For a moment, her exterior melted away and he watched, almost as if in slow motion, an ethereal woman walked past him. Her long hair brushed through his form as her bare feet stepped on the floor of the ruins. Then it was gone and the girl was simply walking away. But the second glance was enough and he felt a stutter in his soul as he was drawn to her. An intense need to watch over her and protect such a creature full of pureness and light overcame him as he faded from view, making sure to stalk her from a distance…

~ ~ ~

Tara stumbled to a halt as an imposing figure turned the corner in front of her, blocking the door to what Flowey promised was the end of the Ruins. A large goat-like figure stood in her way, a purple tattered dress covering the monster.

“Oh, my dear child! You look lost!” the monster said in a sickly sweet voice, rushing over to her. Flowey sank lower into Tara’s pocket, a whimper of fear sounding from him.

“That’s Toriel,” he whispered urgently. “We should run!”

“She’s kind of blocking the way forward,” Tara muttered under her breath. Then she cleared her throat. “I’m not lost, just on my way out. Thank you.” Toriel gasped and covered her mouth.

“Oh what manners you have, sweet child. Come, I will assist you.”

“Thank you, but that will not be necessary,” Tara attempted. Toriel’s eyes narrowed and Tara felt magic grip her arms, jerking her forward towards the monster.

“I insist.” As if on a leash, Tara was pulled forward by this Toriel’s magic.

“We should have run,” Flowey moaned. Tara hissed in annoyance as she was forced to follow Toriel into a small cottage. With her hands stretched forward by the magic tendrils, Tara was unable to make any runes in the air. She didn’t have time to make any with her feet and any that she could picture in her mind weren’t strong enough to free herself.

She found herself being dragged through the cottage and tossed into a small room. Tara automatically rolled onto her back to avoid crushing Flowey in her pocket. Before she could stand, Toriel slammed the door to the bedroom shut and locked it with a _snick_. Then the door gleamed with a strong magic barrier. With a snarl, Tara launched herself at the door, her fists pounding on the barrier. A cold sweat formed over her as she realized the barrier was too strong for her to simply break down in her current state. She was trapped.

Her breathing began to come out short and rushed as her brother’s face flashed in her head. He was counting on her. He needed her to help him right their wrongs. It was her magic that freed Malik and it would have to be her magic to seal him once again. If she failed, her people would all die…

“Frisk! Frisk calm down!” Flowey urged her, his head poking out of her pocket.

“I can’t be trapped, I can’t be trapped! They need me! I have to right my wrongs! My brother needs me!” She slid to the floor as she hiccuped a breath, tears rushing down her cheeks. “He warned me, that damned guard or knight or whoever he was… He warned me what I was doing! I didn’t listen and now… I didn’t know and now I can’t go back. I didn’t play by the rules and now I’m paying for it.” She pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed as the weight of all she’d done began to sink in.

“You have a brother?” Flowey asked gently. She nodded. “Tell me about him. Is he a magic user like you?” She sniffed and shook her head, giving a small laugh at the idea.

“No… No, he’s a warrior. He’s strong and fierce. The dark to my light.” She rubbed under her eyes and gave a small smile. Flowey patted her cheek with his leaf and smiled.

“So he’s a fighter. Would he want you to give up and crumble under your mistakes?” She shook her head. “So fight! Fight for him! Tara, I’ve watched you move through these ruins doing what I always thought was impossible. You’ve brought peace to these creatures. You’ve taken their desire for violence and turned it into a wish for peace. I’ve watched you use that magic to easily bypass puzzles that I’ve watched kill monsters. If anyone can beat Toriel… I believe you can do it. I believe in you. You must stay determined!”

Tara stared at Flowey in silence. “W-what did you call me?” Flowey frowned and thought it over.

“Tara, your name.” He smiled brightly. “Now stay determined! I have faith in you. Think of your brother and remember him as you push on.” She nodded slowly and closed her eyes.

“Tyler. I fight for Tyler.” She released a breath and opened her eyes again, feeling strength return to her once more. Like a flicker happening, she moved away from the door and to the center of the room.

“What’s the plan?” Flowey asked as Tara began to sketch runes into the dirty floor, making sure the lines were clean.

“I may not be able to take down the barrier and free us from this room, but surely Toriel will be back to fetch me later.”

“I heard her mention something about getting you when dinner was ready when you were… Panicking.”

“Right, so in that case…” Another line here, one there. It was complex magic, but simple so long as the runes were completely correct. She couldn’t ever see herself pulling this off in the middle of a battle, it was too risky. But when she had time to prepare? Easy. “When she comes back to fetch me, I’ll hide in the back of the room. She’ll have to enter to find me. And she’ll have to step here.” Done. Tara wiped sweat from her brow as her eyes squinted, not realizing how much time had passed. The entire center of the room was covered in perfect runes.

“What are those?” Flowey asked, frowning at the markings.

“It’s what channels my magic. The rune drawn clarifies the spell called forth. Does your magic not work the same?” Flowey shook his head.

“We monsters just will it and it happens.” Tara nodded at this.

“That would be why I didn’t realize Toriel was using magic on me until it was too late.”

“The goat approaches bold one,” a disembodied voice muttered in Tara’s ear. She jerked in shock as she caught the slight glimpse of Napstablook before he fully disappeared from view. A slight chill covered her body as she realized he’d been following her without her knowledge, but she took his warning to heart and slid under the nearest bed, covering Flowey with a small protective bubble.

After thirty long seconds, the barrier vanished and the door unlocked. The door swung open and Tara watched as the bottom of the purple dress swept into the room.

“Child, dinner is ready,” Toriel called. Tara remained silent. Toriel sighed. “Child this is not the time for games. Come, Mother is growing impatient.” The monster growled in annoyance at the silence. “If you are going to act like this, you will be punished for making me find you.” Toriel moved further into the room and stepped onto Tara’s runes. A bright flash of light and Tara moved quickly as Toriel screeched in anger. The monster was contained in the blinding rune that was now glowing on the floor, beams of light holding her in place.

“Time to go!” Tara panted as she moved from under the bed and made for the door.

“Child! You will regret this!” Toriel threatened as she struggled. Tara raced out the door, eyes flashing around for the exit.

“Down the stairs!” Flowey said quickly. “Hurry, that won’t keep her contained for long.” Tara threw herself down the stairs, tripping on the last one and slamming into the opposing wall. She winced as her left shoulder made contact, her brand throbbing at the sensation. She rushed down the long hallway as a rumble sounded from upstairs.

“She’s free!” Napstablook warned her. Tara took the corner, spotting a door at the end of the hall. She threw a simple illusion spell behind her to confuse the goat as she made for the door.

“Child! Come back!” Toriel wailed. Thumping down the stairs. Tara slammed into the door and tried to yank them open to no avail.

“Shit, it’s locked!” Tara took a breath and traced the rune for unlocking doors in the air in front of her. A screech of anger behind her as Toriel encountered the illusion she set up. Tara shoved her magic into the rune as the lock clicked open.

“No!” Toriel screeched as Tara shoved the door open and fell through into snow. She quickly turned and pushed the door shut as Toriel raced down the hall, arms outstretched. The door shut and Tara quickly traced a barrier rune in front of the door and pressed her magic into it, sealing it from the outside. She stepped back carefully as Toriel attempted to push the door open, only for it to thump against her barrier.

Turning, she rushed away from the door and into the snow-covered forest as Toriel’s wails of anger followed her into the darkness.

After about five minutes of stumbling through the forest, Tara collapsed. She sucked in a breath, feeling as though her lungs would burst.

“We did it,” she mumbled. “We did it…”

“Tara, you can’t sleep here! Tara, we need to move! We’re in the domain of the…” Flowey’s desperate pleas faded from Tara’s ears as she slipped into sleep on the freezing forest floor, a shadow passing over her form right before her eyes fully shut. A slow, menacing chuckle followed her into unconsciousness.

~ ~ ~

Tyler woke with a start on the pile of flowers. He lurched to his feet with a snarl, looking around for his sister.

“Tara? Tara?!” he called out, panic thumping in his chest. He was her protector! He kept her safe! And she was nowhere to be seen. He forced himself to take a breath and calm himself. She was smart, she was of light, and she had her magic. All would be well. Any creature who saw her would be hard-pressed to actually do her harm. It was a gut reaction anyone had when first laying their eyes upon one like his sister. One who radiates purity and light. More than likely, these creatures would take one look and feel the instant need to keep her safe and well-protected. His first memory of his sister was the same. All he wanted to do was stand beside her to protect her. He’d give his life to keep her safe. He took lives to keep her safe. And now he would restrain himself to keep her safe.

Without thinking on it further, he pushed into the darkened halls, ignoring his changed clothing and weaponry. Likely a trick that blasted mage used to keep his own blood from working to his advantage.

He entered some ruins alone and quickly came across a frog-like creature. It growled at him in warning and he snarled at it. It didn’t seem phased, but it did quiver threateningly. Before it attacked, he noticed something… Odd about the room.

“Have you seen my sister?” he demanded of the frog. The frog paused and backed up towards a pond that held traces of his sister’s magic.

“The human girl with magic fingers?” the frog croaked out. _Human girl? No creature would mistake my sister as human._

“Human? She’s no human. But her magic is everywhere in this room,” Tyler retorted, gesturing to the pond and the lights that danced around the space.

“Yes, human girl did this. This her magic and her gift. She as human as you.”

“I’m certainly not human,” Tyler argued, insulted by the idea. The frog croaked in amusement.

“See for yourself, human boy.” It slipped into the pond. Tyler walked over and glanced at his reflection. Anger and panic ripped through him. It was worse than he’d initially thought. He was layered in a thick glamour that gave him the appearance of being human. He snarled. If he was covered in glamour then his sister likely was as well, which meant she wouldn’t have the protection of her blood to keep her safe. He’d have to hurry if he wanted to catch up to her to protect her.

“How long ago was she here?” he called out, trying to calculate how quickly he’d have to move to catch up to track her down.

“Two nights have passed since she came by,” another frog replied. “She is likely either out of the Ruins or caught by Toriel. If she’s caught by Toriel, she’s dead now. That would be sad. Human girl was nice and gave Froggit kind a home.”

“Thanks.” Tyler took off out of the room in a light jog, following the traces of his sister throughout the rooms.

He was slowed down by the infuriating puzzles that seemed to hinder his every movement. Once or twice, he almost found himself impaled by a wrong switch touched, but his quick reflexes and years of training kept him alive and in one piece. A few monsters challenged him to fights, but after a few minutes of fighting, they realized how quickly he could cut them down and would usually flee. Those that didn’t flee realized he was the brother of the ‘human girl’ and allowed him passage. Those ones gave him advice about future puzzles and warned him of this mysterious monster named Toriel, pleading with him to make sure ‘human girl’ was safe.

The ones that fought and fled were different from the ones that gave him advice. The ones that gave him advice were all surrounded by a soft glow, showing a balance of peace. Those that fought and fled didn’t have that glow. It was a clear indication of who his sister interacted with and who she didn’t.

“ _You’ll never reach her in time,”_ a mocking voice came in his ear. He snarled at it and pressed on. _“If she dies, Malik will need a new bride. Andrew will probably be punished in that case. No harm is truly meant to come to her. You though… You’re fair game.”_

“Let me guess, you’re the Shade that awaits to puppet my body if my sister makes a mistake,” Tyler commented as he shoved a rock onto the correct button.

“ _Your body is ripe with possibility, but your sister’s body will do as well. Wouldn’t it be so much quicker to just cut through these foolish creatures? Why hold yourself back and allow them the chance to run?”_

“Because my sister is more than her body. And I will never allow something to puppet her like that,” he growled.

“ _Whether it's me or Malik, her body stopped being her own the second she inserted that gem into that coffin. The second his brand marked her body.”_

“Her mind is her own and that will _never_ change. No matter what you or Malik believe.” With a wave of his hand, he shoved the Shade away. He would save her. From this world and from Malik’s grasp. Even if it cost him his life.

~ ~ ~

A trickle of magic through the air was Tyler’s only warning. He lurched to the side as a huge goat-like creature snarled at him, magic tendrils snapping at open air.

“Child, why play games? Come home where it’s safe and sound.” The previous monsters’ warnings came back to him as he drew the simple knife he had.

“Toriel I presume?” he asked, dodging a couple more tendrils. “Where is my sister?” The creature screeched at him.

“Your sister? Is your sister the annoying little brat who sealed me in my own Ruins?! I may not be able to make her suffer, but I can surely make you suffer boy!” He rolled towards the creature as she launched a couple of balls of white fire towards him. A simple slash of the knife against her arm and she wailed in pain, blood leaking from the arm. “You’ll pay for that, you worthless little human!” She clawed at him and he raised the knife, forgetting for a moment that it was not his sword. Air left his lungs as he was tossed into a nearby pillar.

He groaned as the goat approached, fireballs surrounding her. He shook the daze away and rolled to the side, getting to his feet. He rubbed the blood leaking from his mouth and gave a grin.

“So my clever sister managed to get past you. Good girl.” Toriel leaped towards him in a rage and he stepped inside the attack, slashing up with the knife. It cut upwards along her chest, causing her to stumble back in pain.

“You… You’re not human! What are you?!” Toriel wailed. “Humans shouldn’t have magic like your sister! Humans shouldn’t be able to fight like you!” She stared at him in open fear and scrambled away swiftly, cowering. “Humans… Humans don’t look like you!” Tyler ran his tongue over his teeth and stashed the knife away, giving her a shrug.

“Because we’re not human. Now, tell me where my sister went.”

“Out into the forest. Towards Snowdin!” She pointed with a shaking claw towards the small cottage in the next room. “Through my home, down the stairs. But the exit is blocked by her barrier from the outside! There is no leaving the Ruins anymore!”

“Not for you.” With that, Tyler turned and headed for the cottage. Exhaustion tugged at his bones, but he pressed onward. For her, he’d press onward.

He entered the cottage and slipped down the stairs, smiling at the illusion magic shimmering at the end of the first hallway. Such a simple illusion of spiderwebs blocking the path. He walked through without a care in the world but knew if one didn’t realize what it was, it would definitely cause panic and delay. _My sister, ever the clever one._ When he reached the door in question, he took a deep breath and reached out with a hand. Sure enough, a strong barrier rested on the other side of the door. It would prevent anything that wished Tara harm from opening the door or moving through it.

Tyler pushed the door open and stepped through the door into a snow-covered forest. He breathed in the fresher air, shutting the door behind him. His eyes spotted the footsteps easily and he sighed in relief. She was close.

He began to follow the footsteps deeper into the forest before encountering a lump of displaced snow where she apparently had collapsed. He frowned, looking around for more tracks when a tall shadow stretched out before him. Just as he spun around to defend himself, something slammed into his temple and the world went black.

~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for this chapter, I think my favorite moment was definitely the ending chase scene with Toriel. I, personally, love stress-filled chase sequences (Even if we as an audience know that the characters have to get away for the story to progress). I also wanted to add a twist to the way certain monsters are spared, taking Tara's magic into account. For instance, Froggit is appeased by having a wetlands environment created for it (As I didn't recall the Ruins in the OG game having a pond or anything like that for them) while Loox is appeased by simply being made to remember a happier time. I didn't want to spend too much time on the different puzzles, as I feel that's not the main draw of the story and Undertale as a whole: the characters are. As this goes up, I'm already working through the next chapter where our favorite Skele-bros show up, so look forward to that!


	2. Snowdin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tara desperately tries to make her way through the forest with a certain skeleton chasing her down. She just has to make it through Snowdin and to Waterfall, then Flowey assures her that the skeleton brothers won't be able to follow her. She just has to survive the forest first.
> 
> Tyler awakens to find himself trapped in a cage by I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS. *Coughcough*Youmeanwriter*coughcough* SILENCE KNAVE.

“ _Go and clear the town Sword,” Malik commanded._

“ _No…” Tyler growled, fighting against the brand that marked his right shoulder. Malik gave Tyler a bored look and closed his right fist._

“ _I gave you a command Sword. See it is carried out.” With a snarl, Tyler drew his sword and began to stalk towards the lightly guarded town. I was forced to watch with a heavy heart as my darling brother was made to kill innocents._

“ _Please… Don’t make him do this,” I pleaded with Malik. “It goes against his very nature to take the life of innocents like this.”_

“ _Watch my Bride. Watch as I regain my control over this world. People have grown complacent and weak in my absence. See how little they care for their own safety!” Malik closed his left hand and my head was forced to watch as my brother cut down a young woman begging for mercy,_ _even as I tried to look away_ _. “This would not happen had they simply took care to bolster their defenses! They make it too easy!”_

_My fingers shakily traced a rune in the ground while Malik was distracted and I flooded it with my magic, pouring every bit of my grief and regret into the rune. I could almost hear the snap as the brand was temporarily disabled. Malik swore as I lurched to my feet and raced towards my brother and the fighting._

_Guards looked at me in shock as I passed by, hesitating to draw their weapons against me. My blood sang to them as my eyes stayed locked on my brother’s form, tears streaming down my cheeks. My hands were moving before I finished reaching him and I shoved my magic into him, breaking his brand as well._

“ _Come, brother! We must run! Before he gains control over us once more!” I gasped. Tyler blinked at me, glancing at the guards and back towards Malik’s growing army. He nodded and bundled me in his arms as we raced away from the village and towards the forest._

_As we ran, I threw multiple different forms of illusion magic over my shoulder and traced runes over trees in front of us to pour magic into as we passed. The trees answered my call and closed off tightly behind us, sealing us into the forest. Still, I continued to use as much magic as I had at my disposal, alternating between illusions and calling to the trees._

“ _We must find Andrew and figure out what went wrong,” Tyler stated. I nodded, exhaustion sweeping through me as I called more trees to close behind us. Without breaking a stride, Tyler sheathed his sword and scooped me up in his arms._ _He pushed his strength into his legs and raced further away from the God of War we had foolishly summoned. This wasn’t what we wanted… But is it not what we asked for? We asked for the God of War, but we didn’t… We didn’t realize the consequences. I let out a sigh, letting my head rest against my brother’s chest, watching the sky._

“ _What a lovely day to be burning in hell…” I mumbled. Tyler’s arms tightened around me._

~ ~ ~

Tara woke slowly, feeling her energy replenished after the mad dash she’d made the day before to escape Toriel. She blinked her eyes open to see a small campfire burning before her, warming her to her core. A bowl of soup and a cup of water sat before her. She eagerly reached for the soup, shoveling the food into her mouth. She didn’t realize how hungry she’d become until she started eating. Bits of potato and carrots floated in the soup and she practically inhaled it. After she finished with the soup, she grabbed the cup of water and drank quickly before finally taking a breath. She was wiping her mouth when a dark chuckle reached her ears. She twisted quickly, eyes falling on…

“Guess you were hungry after all,” the skeleton commented, leaning against a tree. He was tall and stocky with a rounded and shiny skull, two red lights acting as eyes in his empty sockets. There was one gleaming gold tooth on the left side of his perpetual grin. He wore a black jacket with a red shirt underneath, black basketball shorts, and simple black basketball shoes with the laces untied and the lip folded over. “Now, what’s a pretty little slip like you doing out in the forest all on your own?”

She didn’t know why, this skeleton _had_ fed her and saved her from hypothermia, but she felt the need to tread carefully. Flowey was gone and this creature simply radiated violence. She wished, not for the first time in her life, that she had her brother’s blood ability to sense magic. She knew on a base arcane level that this monster had the ability to use magic, but she couldn’t tell how much or how strong he’d be. She also didn’t know if there were any magical traps laying around her. Usually, she’d look for runes, but as Flowey told her prior… Monsters don’t need runes.

“I’m just trying to find my way out of the Underground,” she said carefully, pulling her knees up to her chest. The skeleton cocked his head to the side and chuckled again.

“Is that so? Well, I’m shocked you managed to survive the Ruins. Not many a creature can get past Toriel in one piece.”

She shrugged. “I got lucky.”

“Oh no, there’s no need to lie. I watched you use magic to place a barrier against the door so she couldn’t follow you out.” Red smoke started to seep from his left eye socket as bones burst up from the ground to cage her in. Her eyes widened. “I’m Sans, Sans the Skeleton. Now tell me your name.” _That is not a request._

“Tara…”

“Frisk? Interesting name. Tell me, Frisk, do you like games?” He approached slowly, that smoke swirling around his eye. “See, I enjoy playing with my prey. I like the chase. And you? You definitely seem like much more fun than others who have had the misfortune of crossing my path.” The bones snapped back into the ground and that eye with the smoke seemed to gleam brighter. He gave a dark chuckle. “Run.”

Tara ran.

She swore as she stumbled to her feet and raced into the forest, glancing back to watch Sans melt into the shadows with a laugh.

“Tara!” She heard Flowey call from her left and she changed course to race towards him. She spotted him huddling under a bush. With only a brief pause, she scooped him up, ignoring the numbness the snow caused her fingers. She quickly placed him back in her pocket before taking off again.

“What happened?” she asked breathlessly.

“I tried to warn you, but you fell asleep! We’re in the Skeleton Brother’s domain! It’s one of the most dangerous domains! We need to hurry and push through Snowdin on towards the Waterfall.”

“Okay, new immediate goal. Get to Snowdin without Sans catching us!” A barrier of bones blasted up in her path and Tara scrambled to change course.

“He’s trying to herd you!” Tara’s eyes narrowed at that and she grit her teeth.

“He can only herd one of me,” she spat out. With both hands, she drew runes in the air and shot her magic into them. Two identical versions of her split off from her into two different directions, both leaving tracks in the snow.

“Clever little Frisk!” she heard Sans call through the forest with a cackle. The sound of magic blasted through the air and she stumbled as she felt one version be forcefully removed from reality.

“Fastest way to Snowdin?” she asked Flowey.

“Directly east!” She nodded at that and changed her direction to head north, urging her remaining copy to head east. Tara sucked in a breath and drew a few more runes in the air, sending herself into the shadows before launching herself at the nearest tree. She clung to a branch somewhere in the middle of the pine and traced a rune against the bark, gently pushing her magic into the tree. The tree hummed in response kindly and the branches grew around her, hiding her from view and stabling out the branch so she could relax her hold.

She heard footsteps underneath the tree and covered her own mouth and Flowey’s, peeking down through the branches. Sans stalked under the tree, hands stuffed in his pockets. He seemed to be staring at the tracks left in the snow and how they suddenly stopped without warning. He glanced around, listening intently. A branch snapped somewhere towards her left and Sans chuckled, turning to walk in that direction.

After a solid five minutes, Tara relaxed and let out a breath of relief. She lowered her hands and pressed her head against the tree trunk. _I can’t keep running like this. I’ll eventually make a mistake and either hurt someone or die._ As if sensing her will to go on fading, Flowey gently rubbed her hand with his leaf and gave her a smile.

“You’ve got this,” he told her gently. “You’re strong.” She shook her head at that.

“I’m not. I’m not strong. Tyler is strong, he’s the warrior. I’m just the magic-user.” She sucked in a breath. “And we’re both in this position because of me. I let paranoia get in the way of all my morals. Gods above and below, all this sin I feel is unbearable.”

“What are you talking about?” Flowey seemed concerned. “You’re the most pure and bright being I’ve ever encountered. You could’ve just run from all the monsters in the Ruins or fought them, but instead, you made their lives brighter and brought them peace.”

Tara took a deep breath and stared down at her shaking hands, unable to meet Flowey’s gaze. “I took away the happy ending of my people. We were happy, we were at peace. But it felt incomplete. I never did want to play by all the rules. Why have a warrior brother if there is no war? Why have a peace-making sister if there is no peace to make? And I reset the world. My foolish actions brought genocide. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“What happened?”

“A mage came to our home with warnings of a war incoming. He showed me these visions of my people scattered and dying. He said the only way to keep my people safe would be to raise the God of War… So I did.”

“You just wanted to save your people.”

“I was warned so many times over. Even Tyler asked me to reconsider, but I refused to listen. And I dragged my brother into this mess with me. Now, we’re stuck here and I don’t know where he is or if he’s even truly in the same place, and if I make one single mistake… The consequences would be unbearable.”

“So remember your brother,” Flowey stated firmly, finally catching Tara’s eyes. “Keep his face in your mind and remember you’re doing this for _him_. Don’t let yourself fall into despair and push forward for him. And any time you’re worried that you’re slipping, just trust in _me_ to remind you to stay determined.”

Tara pulled in a breath as Flowey’s words washed over her, feeling as though her soul was being repaired bit by bit, her strength returning by a fraction. Usually, she was the peace-maker. The one bringing peace to others who needed it, but in this moment? In this moment it was Flowey bringing her the much-needed peace. She gave a firm nod, her mind returning to the issue at hand.

“Okay, so we need to reach Snowdin, right?” She was rewarded with a bright smile and a nod. “What is Snowdin? Is it like the Ruins?”

“No, Snowdin is a town. But you won’t be safe there either. If Sans is prowling the forest, then the other brother Papyrus is probably patrolling the town. Plus, humans aren’t looked upon kindly anywhere in the Underground.”

“Then we’ll need a disguise.” Tara chewed on her lip as she considered.

“How are we going to disguise ourselves? It’s not like clothes are just hanging around in the forest waiting to be worn.” The idea sparked in Tara’s mind and she gave Flowey a wild grin.

“Why not become the hunter instead of the hunted?”

~ ~ ~

“This is a bad plan,” Flowey whispered to Tara. She ignored him as she watched Sans grumble in annoyance as he circled around the area once again, trying to figure out where she might’ve gone after her tracks vanished.

“It’ll work… I hope,” she muttered, focusing her magic into the rune she’d carefully traced in the snow earlier. As Sans repeated his circuit, he stepped on the rune and her illusion flashed to life. His jacket lit up with a white flame and he swore, trying to pat it out. When it didn’t go out, he struggled out of it in a panic, dropping it on the ground. The next part of the illusion sprung to life as a mimic Tara broke from cover and raced away.

“Get back here, fucking trickster,” Sans snarled as he moved after the mimic. Once he was gone, Tara slipped down from the tree and snatched up his black jacket, shutting off the fire illusion. She shrugged it on and zipped it up, pulling the hood up and over her head.

“See? Told you it’d work.” She grinned as Flowey muttered something she didn’t quite catch from her pocket. They turned to the east and began making their way towards Snowdin.

On the journey, Tara began the long process of glamouring her exposed skin to appear as bones. Any creature that crossed her path immediately rushed away in fear. She was untouchable pretending to be Sans, at least for this area. But from what Flowey explained, it would _only_ get her through Snowdin. Past that into Waterfall, that was the domain of Undyne. And there the disguise would be pointless.

“You’re a smart girl Frisk,” Sans’ voice came from behind her. Tara twisted to look behind her, seeing Sans standing there with a couple of bones floating in the air behind him, pointed at her. “But you have magic. You have some skill if you got past Toriel. Why run every time? Wouldn’t it be more fun to fight me head-on? My magic against your magic. What a spectacle we’d make!”

“Why do we need to fight Sans?” Tara demanded, backing away carefully. “Why not work together and just leave this place?” He let out a laugh.

“You think monsters can just _leave_? Ha! There’s a good one. Seems your little guide neglected to mention the barrier that prevents all monsters from leaving!” Tara blinked in shock. “See, the only way a monster can leave the Underground is if they consume a human soul. And those things are kind of a rarity around these parts. Only one has managed it since we were trapped here. I aim for me and my brother to be next in line.” If possible, his grin seemed to widen. “Which is why your soul is so valuable.”

_But I’m not human. Would my soul even work?_ “A barrier? I’m certain if we combine our magic then we can simply take down the barrier together! Or at least give you and your brother an out. We don’t have to fight, please Sans.” With a deep breath, she extended her hand towards him and offered a smile. “We can escape together.”

“Are you… Trying to show me mercy? Ha! And just when I thought you couldn’t get any cuter.” He flicked his hand and the bones lurched towards Tara. She dropped to the ground as they flew over her head. “I’ll be needing my jacket back too doll.” Another flick of his hand had Tara rolling, keeping her arms pressed against her chest carefully to protect Flowey.

She pushed to her feet and screamed in pain as one of the bones slashed against her left bicep, the brand throbbing as blood began to drip from the wound.

“Fight me!” Sans shouted.

“I’m not even human you foolish skeleton!” she shouted back, pressing her hand against the wound. He froze.

“You’re lying.”

She snarled at him. “Look at my blood and you tell me.” With those words, she pulled her hands from her arm and showed him the color. Instead of red, it was black. The first definitive sign that she was not in a different form, but instead just heavily glamoured.

“That can’t be right…” Sans stumbled back a moment and clutched his skull, shaking his head. “It’s a trick. Yes, it must be a trick.” He raised more bones up and chuckled. “Almost had me doll, but I’m not so easily fooled. Better start running.”

For a moment, a brief moment, Tara entertained the idea of standing her ground. But the feel of Flowey quivering in her pocket reminded her of everything she had to lose if she fought back. So she snarled and bolted for the forest, calling on the trees to block his path and allow her the straightest shot to safety.

~ ~ ~

Sans watched her race into the forest and the trees close behind her. He slowly lowered his hands down and frowned a bit. Her blood was… Black. And he swore, for the briefest moment when he saw that black blood, that she looked like something else. But he’d encountered plenty of her tricks in their game of cat and mouse through the forest. More interestingly, was how she refused to fight. She seemed insistent on showing mercy instead of fighting. Was fighting off the table for her? Oh, that was too good. If that was the case… It’d make things almost too easy. So why end it so easy? And she truly looked appetizing in more ways than one all bundled up in his jacket.

He’d make her fight back eventually, he just needed to know her weakness to exploit. Then when she did fight and he won, the victory would be all the sweeter. And hey, if she really wasn’t human… Not like it’d be a wasted victory to have her as his. There was just something about her blood that seemed to call out to him, begging him to take. To own. To possess. _Mine_.

~ ~ ~

Tara blinked at the darkened town stretched before her. A sign welcomed her to Snowdin. She pulled the hood down further over her face as she walked through the empty streets. On the run over here, she had been mentally flipping through different runes in her head to figure out which would be the best one to use on the fly to imitate Sans’ bone attack. She hoped the simple jacket with her illusions would be enough, but she couldn’t be certain. It never hurt to be over-prepared.

A noisy bar labeled as _Grillby’s_ was coming up on her right, monsters coming and going from the loud thing. Tara rushed past it without a second glance, listening to only Flowey’s muffled advice on where to go next. A drunk monster stumbled out onto the street in front of her, causing her to curl her lip in annoyance. She hated drunks. The number of times she’d had to pry a drunk’s hand off her arm, or ass, in her life were more than she cared to recall.

But humans liked their drinks and she did have a job of bringing peace. Even if the peace was simply a bar patron who got too rowdy for the owner to bother dealing with. _“Why bother with the paperwork of calling the guards when you’re nearby Tara?” the owner asked with a large grin._ Why indeed?

The edge of Snowdin called to her as she finally saw the entrance to Waterfall. It was so close. Escape from Sans and one step closer to her end goal was in sight. The only thing between her and it was an extremely tall and thin skeleton standing with his arms crossed.

“Sans!” the skeleton shouted at her. “Why are you here?! You should be hunting down the girl in the forest!” Tara blinked and scrambled for an answer, her heart thumping in her chest. “Honestly brother! I caught mine without a fuss! Now you catch yours! We agreed to partake in their souls together!” Tara froze at those words. “Sans?! Why are you ignoring me?! Sans!”

“What do you mean, you caught yours?” Tara asked softly.

“Your voice sounds off! Are you coming down with something?! No matter! My human, of course! The human boy who walked out of the ruins!”

“The human… Boy…” Images of her brother flashed in her mind.

~ ~ ~

Tyler woke with a groan, rubbing his head. He was trapped in a cage somewhere. A tall skeleton bustled around the dark room, seemingly preparing something.

“Mind explaining why you bashed me over the head?” he growled out. The skeleton ignored him. “Hey! I’m asking you a question!”

“Silence human!” the skeleton snapped loudly at him. “You are in the presence of I, the Great Papyrus! Another word and I’ll have your tongue!” With a growl and a mutter, Papyrus stalked from the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

Tyler snarled at the door before inspecting the cage he was in. It was made of bones… But he didn’t sense any magic coming from it. It was just a simple cage made of bones. With a grumble of annoyance, he braced himself against one side of the cage and kicked out against the other. His body might’ve been glamoured to _look_ human, but he still wasn’t human. It only took two solid kicks to break a hole big enough for him to get through.

Freed, he looked around the room for something to use. The knife had been taken away, as expected, and he was left without a proper weapon. There seemed to be nothing here that would satisfy him, except… He returned to the bone cage and grabbed one of the bones that had splintered with his kicks. It was long and sturdy. Wouldn’t hold up forever, but it’d have to do for now.

Armed, Tyler made his way over to a window and glanced out, frowning at what he saw. Papyrus seemed to have walked out of this… House seemed like too kind a word… _Abode_ and headed towards the left. They were in some town. To the left was seemingly nothing of significance. But to the right…

A small dark figure walked down the street slowly, hood pulled firmly over their face. As Tyler watched in confusion, the figure passed by the house. Magic glimmered from the creature. Skeletal legs, but gleaming with illusion magic. Tyler’s head throbbed as he forced himself to read the magical signature. His eyes widened as his brain finally connected it, seeing the black blood drip down her arm.

“Tara!” he shouted, banging his fists against the window. She didn’t seem to hear him as she continued to make her way towards the left. Towards where Papyrus had gone. With a hiss, Tyler tried the door. Locked. He rammed his shoulder against it. No give. He ran back to the window, but couldn’t see down the street where Tara had gone. With a snarl, he lifted the bone he had and slammed it against the window. Cracks began to form. He struck it again. Again. A fourth time. On the fifth, it finally shattered.

Without caring much for his own safety, Tyler scrambled through the window and fell forward into the snow outside, his hands and legs cut and bleeding from the broken glass. Ignoring all that, he ran to the left, feeling his sister’s magic and blood calling out to him. Begging him to protect her. Pleading for him to save her.

“Is he?!” He heard Tara’s shout from down the darkened street. And there she was, standing her ground against Papyrus, a short figure imposed by such a tall one. Magic gleamed around her, the hood was fully off now. He ignored the glamour hiding her true form. Papyrus slashed at her with a sword, aimed for her neck.

Tyler got there just in time, shoving his darling sister to the side and using the bone as protection against that sword. Surprisingly, the bone stood up against the sword, but the skeleton was _strong_. Stronger than Tyler expected.

“Tara run!” Tyler shouted at his sister. She gaped up at him from her spot on the ground.

“T-Tyler? Is that… Truly you?” He shoved Papyrus back and lashed out with the bone, using it as a sword. The skeleton scowled and brought up a shield to defend himself with.

“Of course it is, now run! You must escape! Our people are lost without you!”

“I can’t leave you!”

“Of course you can!”

“But I’m lost without you dammit!”

“Silence!” Papyrus shouted, attacking again. Tara and Tyler seemed to snarl in unison.

“You’re interrupting a family affair!” Tara shouted back. She traced a rune in the snow and pushed her magic into it. Vines sprung up from the ground and held Papyrus in place, for at least a moment. Tara gripped Tyler’s arm and yanked him towards the entrance to some caves. “Brother, please! He cannot follow us in there, but we just have to make it!”

Tyler gripped Tara’s arms and twisted her around as another sword slash from Papyrus nearly took her arm off. He released her and bent down, grabbing a handful of snow and tossing it in its single red eye.

“We don’t have that kind of time sister,” he explained in a rush. “Go. I’ll catch up, don’t you worry. But you cannot be in this fight when you are unable to defend yourself.” Tara bit her lip in indecision and Tyler swiftly stepped into the skeleton’s guard to shove it backward with his shoulder. “You’ll just be a distraction for me and a target for him now go!”

“You better not die, and catch up soon!” Her voice was dark with violence. He spared her a cocky grin and turned back to the problem at hand.

“A sister?! And brother?!” the skeleton asked in confusion. “You both look oddly similar, I guess it is possible!” His sword wavered slightly as Papyrus seemed to hesitate for a moment and Tyler took advantage.

Tyler moved forward swiftly with the kind of speed that only his kind possessed and gripped Papyrus’ wrist of the hand holding the sword. He slammed his elbow against the skeleton’s forearm, causing him to drop the sword with a shout of pain. Then Tyler simply flipped Papyrus over his shoulder and pressed the edge of the bone against the skeleton’s very exposed neck bone.

“Do it! Kill me! But my brother will avenge me!” Papyrus shouted, but his eye… His eye almost seemed wide and uncertain. Scared perhaps?

“I won’t kill you. But you do not attack me nor my sister again,” Tyler responded firmly. Mercy, such a simple thing to give. Something he had practice giving. He abhorred killing when he didn’t have to. There was no honor in killing a defenseless foe. As a warrior bound to one like his sister, if ever an enemy stopped fighting, Tyler stopped as well. Always give his sister a chance to show peace. If that failed… Well, the enemy usually couldn’t keep fighting against Tyler’s blood that demanded they give up lest they want to forfeit their life.

“You’re not human,” Papyrus realized with a shock.

“I’m not, and neither is my sister. Everything you see in me now, she is the opposite. The light to my dark. Know that if ever you think of harming her again. Just remember the face you are seeing now.” Tyler snarled deliberately at the skeleton’s face before moving off. Papyrus stared at the entrance to the caves where Tara vanished and glanced back towards Tyler.

“If she is your opposite! Then she is hope for escape! I must pack my bags! Hope has arrived for monsters!” With that, he raced off towards the abode where he had kept Tyler captive. Tyler sighed and dropped the bone, choosing instead to pick up Papyrus’ forgotten sword, twisting it in his hands.

It was balanced, single-edged, and comfortable enough to use. Nice long reach, though heavy. He’d have to wield it with both hands, else he’d tire himself out too quickly.

“ _Tsk_ , first she steals my jacket, and then she just leaves it on the ground like trash,” a dark voice rumbled from behind him. Tyler spun to see another skeleton, though his one not nearly as tall or slender, reach down and lift the black jacket from the ground. It brushed it off before shrugging it on, giving Tyler a grin. “The name’s Sans. Sans the Skeleton.”

Tyler didn’t reply, instead, he lifted the sword and prepared himself for another fight, willing to do whatever it took to give his sister enough time to get as far away as possible.

“Now, now. No need for that. See, I’m not interested in fighting you. I watched your fight with my brother and, while impressive, you don’t have the same appeal as your precious sister.”

“What do you want with Tara?” Tyler demanded, tightening his grip on the sword. Sans chuckled.

“See now, she’s got magic and you don’t. She’s more fun. I want her and so I’ll have her.”

“You’ll have to get through me first. I won’t let you touch her.” Sans’ left eye started to pour red smoke as Tyler said that, a laugh leaving the skeleton.

“Well, we’ll see who gets to her first, won’t we?” Sans reached out and grabbed Tyler’s arm and the world darkened. When he could see again, he found himself back in front of the door to the Ruins and Sans was a couple of feet away, waving at him. “Good luck catching up buddy.” Then he vanished, leaving Tyler alone in the forest… With no idea how to navigate his way back to the town and towards the cavern Tara had escaped into.

~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We spent a LOT of time in the forest. More time than I honestly meant to spend in the forest. But I had such a fun time writing the cat and mouse game that Sans and Tara were having. Chase scenes are such... Beauty. Especially when one character can't fight back for one reason or another. Unfortunately, that meant my original plan for Snowdin was scrapped because it just wouldn't have worked right with how the chapter ended up.
> 
> Originally, I planned to have Tyler encounter Papyrus in the forest and have their battle centered there similar to Tara and Sans, then switch each enemy at the end with Papyrus having to be fought by Tara to get to Waterfall and Tyler fighting Sans to get to Waterfall. But I decided (last minute honestly) to switch it up. See, Sans needs a weakness for Tara. He needs something to push her into fighting back. So I gave Sans a chance to see her interact with her brother (This also works to let Tara know that, yes, her brother is trapped here as well and not somewhere else). Then I was like "But how do I make it so Tyler can't simply catch up with Tara again?" It took literally three seconds for me to remember "Duh, Sans cheats and teleports him to the exit of the Ruins!"
> 
> All in all, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I love the characters of Sans and Papyrus, but I wasn't able to give Papyrus as much love as I wanted to. I think I just struggle writing him as a villain. Sans is oddly easy to write as a villain, but Papyrus is my cinnamon bun... :( No villify... Bad writer... *Goes to room*


	3. Waterfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tara makes her way through Waterfall, not knowing if her brother survived his encounter with Papyrus. She and Flowey share a heart-to-heart when she encounters someone not-so-friendly in some particularly tall grass...
> 
> Tyler finishes his long trek through the forest and finally makes it to Waterfall where he gains his own companion to help him through the Underground.

Tara pressed her head against the cavern wall, trying to fight the urge to turn around and run back for her brother. He didn’t look like her brother, but he was. She could feel the connection of their blood from the moment that male look-a-like of her own glamoured form appeared. And the way he fought, definitely Tyler. She hated herself for running… But he was right. If she couldn’t even defend herself, she would just be in the way.

“It’s going to be okay Tara,” Flowey told her gently, looking up at her with concern. “I have faith that everything will be fine. If he’s half as determined as you are, then there’s no way anyone will defeat him! Magic isn’t everything anyway. Why some monsters give up their magic and choose to fight with weapons. Papyrus is one of them. And you always talk about how your brother is this amazing warrior so there’s no way that Papyrus will beat him! He’ll catch up to us soon!”

“And if Sans shows up while he’s fighting Papyrus?” Tara asked soullessly. “Tyler and I work so well together _because_ we are opposites. Physical opponents are his specialty while magical ones are mine. We cover each other’s weaknesses. But I can’t even risk harming a creature, so now the most I can do is appease these monsters… Or run… I’m useless to him now.”

“I… I don’t have all the answers, Tara. But I do know that so long as Frisk knows _who_ he’s fighting for, he can’t be beaten.” _Of course, Tyler’s name will have been taken too… Does he even know it yet?_ Shaking off her morbid thoughts, Tara sunk to the ground and blinked up at the glittering cavern ceiling. She gave a small smile.

“Those gems up there in the ceiling. They remind me of the stars.”

Flowey glanced up as well before giving a sad laugh. “Yeah, I guess they do look it.”

“What did Sans mean? When he said that there was a barrier preventing monsters from leaving the Underground? Was he lying?”

“No… No, he wasn’t lying.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? How can I take you out with me if there’s a barrier there that prevents you from walking out with me?”

Flowey was silent for a while, seeming to need some time to get his thoughts in order. “Because I have a human soul in me…” Tara jerked in shock. “Ya see… About ten years ago, a human fell into the Underground. I was a small monster at the time and I liked to play around the Ruins. I’d always been taught that humans were evil and mean. ‘It’s kill or be killed in this world.’ But the human was just a child. Just a little boy who was lost and scared. I knew I was supposed to kill him and take his soul so that way I had a way to be free, but I didn’t want to. The boy was super nice and we talked for hours about everything and nothing. I didn’t want to hurt him because he’d become my friend. So I hid him.

“I snuck him food and water and we started to plan out how we could get him from the Ruins all the way through to the barrier to help him get out. It was a really good plan, I thought so anyway. He was scared, but determined to try.”

“What happened?”

“Well, we got super far. All the way to Hotland! But I didn’t know that humans need water more frequently the hotter they got. We didn’t pack enough water and…” Flowey broke off, rubbing a leaf under his eye. “He didn’t make it. But he wanted me to promise him to take his soul that way I could escape. He asked me to bring a journal that he’d been writing in back to his mom. In the journal, it would explain what happened to him and ask her to forgive him for running off. So I agreed. It was all I could do, you know? All I could do to make things right.

“I took his soul and continued through the Underground. But when I got to the barrier, there was someone waiting for me.” Flowey shivered at the memory. “A powerful monster who could see that I had a human soul. And he wanted that soul for himself in order to escape. I told him that he couldn’t have it because it was mine now. He didn’t care. His magic blocked my exit and I had to run away. I didn’t get very far before he caught me. He… He killed m-me. But as I could feel myself dying, as I could _feel_ him starting to take the soul for himself… I’m not sure what I did. There was this yellow flower and I reached out for it. I didn’t want him to take my friend’s soul and I knew I had to deliver the journal at any cost. My poor planning got my friend killed and it was the least I could do for him.

“When I woke up, I was like this. Just a flower. And my ashes were just lying there in front of me with the journal sitting there on top of them. So I took the journal and hid it in my vines. But every time I tried to go back to the barrier I just got so scared. I just kept remembering dying and how it felt having my soul being ripped from my body. So I went back to the Ruins where I first found my friend. I wanted to get stronger so I could beat the monster. But I just kept getting beat up by monsters instead. Another human fell into the Underground not long after that, an adult this time. I tried to warn him that it was super dangerous down here!”

“And he didn’t listen,” Tara guessed. Flowey nodded.

“He didn’t. Said he didn’t need the help of a stupid flower. Said that he had his own magic and could easily get out. I heard he was killed and a monster took his soul before escaping. I don’t know if it was the really powerful monster or another one, but I was too scared to leave the Ruins after that. If any other monster realized that I had a human soul…” Tara gently pulled Flowey close, the rune appearing in her mind. As she touched her forehead to Flowey’s, she pressed out with her magic.

Her magic surged warmly and she took on his pain. She didn’t take it away, that wouldn’t be helpful to him, but she shared it with herself. All the negativity and feelings of failure, she did take completely. For a moment, she felt her soul weigh down harshly with all the negative emotions and thoughts he had for himself before she ground it out into the earth. And then there was only peace.

“We’re not going to fail Flowey,” she promised him firmly. “You will get that journal to that boy’s mother. And whatever is waiting for us at the barrier, we will survive.” Flowey breathed a sigh of sweet relief as his pain was shared among another individual. Tara focused her sights on that barrier, a sense of purpose filling her for the first time in so long.

~ ~ ~

Tara walked through the caverns cautiously, rubbing her arm where Sans had cut her. The cut was deep and it wasn’t healing as quickly as she’d hoped. Though she supposed having her blood exposed gave her _some_ advantages against these less powerful monsters that she and Flowey encountered. When she realized what was happening, it was against this odd-looking fish monster that just would not stop flexing.

It had initially came at her, shouting that its muscles were so big that it’d kill her with one punch and take her soul. But once it truly got close to her, it paused and looked at her curiously. And she could feel her blood singing to it, begging it not to fight her. It would’ve been stronger without the glamour, but the hesitation was enough for Tara to convince the creature to not fight. The creature decided that it could not battle her and that she wouldn’t be a worthy opponent anyway. It agreed to her proposal that perhaps fighting another creature to the death would end up getting boring, as if it killed all other monsters then there would be no monsters left to appreciate its superior muscles, so perhaps instead it should only fight for fun and not to truly harm, except in cases of self-defense. It also promised to always give its opponents a chance of mercy.

After that encounter, with the help of Flowey, Tara tore off the left sleeve of her sweatshirt. That was when Flowey had the best idea ever.

With her magic, she wrote some basic directions for her brother—with Flowey’s guidance—telling him the safest and easiest path towards the barrier. Then they tied it to a statue so he wouldn’t be able to miss it. Because the directions were written in her magic, only her brother would be able to read it properly.

Now, they were approaching a stretch of long grass. Any puzzle she got through with ease, feeling stronger in her new body, her magic making any roadblock trivial. But this grass stretch made Tara nervous. She couldn’t see what was on the other side and it came up over her head. She would be going in blind.

“I’m certain it's going to be okay,” Flowey assured her. “Undyne doesn’t usually patrol this far out. She likes to stand guard near the entrance to Hotland to ensure nothing gets past her.”

“It’s not really Undyne that I’m worried about right now,” she admitted, seeing only those red eyes in her mind. A shiver raced through her as she glanced over her shoulder. “I just… I feel like I’m being watched. I just keep expecting Sans to come out and attack me at any moment.” Flowey laid a leaf against Tara’s collarbone and gave her a smile.

“You don’t have to worry about that. This is Undyne’s domain. Sans isn’t allowed to-uh- _hunt_ in any domain that isn’t his own. If Undyne caught him trying to poach in her domain, she’d be furious. Come on, let’s push on.” Tara nodded and took a deep breath before walking forward into the tall grass.

The grass seemed to cling to her skin, making it seem thicker than it truly was. The feeling of being followed only grew the further she walked into the grass and she found herself looking around constantly for the source of her paranoia. Her heart-rate shot up the more she walked, the exit never seeming close enough. Every bit of her screamed at her to run, to just run. Whatever was following her was getting closer. It was getting closer and it was going to catch her. And if it caught her, it would kill her. She would die and she would fail.

“Whatchya runnin’ from doll?” Sans’ voice whispered in her ear. She spun around, seeing nothing but grass. Her eyes widened as her feet scrambled backward. “Fuck, you just get more cute the more scared you look.” She whipped around again, but still nothing. This time, however, her feet froze in place, refusing to move forward. Panic, and something else, held her still. Some magic that didn’t allow her to move, no matter how hard she fought.

“Tara?” Flowey asked, concern in his voice.

“Your little guide’s right, I can’t take you here. Undyne would be pretty pissed. But it doesn’t mean I can’t play a little.” She felt cold hands wrap around her arms. “Come on back to Snowdin doll. I can promise you such a good time.” She couldn’t move, she couldn’t _move_. _Come on Tara, fight him! Fight this piece of shit!_ she screamed at herself mentally. Her blood surged as her magic sung, shoving outwards. She heard Sans swear as he was pushed back by a couple of steps. His concentration broke and she was free.

Without waiting another moment, she raced forward, pushing through the tall grass without truly caring which direction she was heading in. So long as it led out of this nightmare, she was taking it.

“Man, oh man,” she heard Sans call out with a laugh. “I knew your magic was strong, but I didn’t realize _how_ strong! You truly are a prize!”

“Duck,” a ghostly voice whispered to her. She didn’t hesitate and ducked as a single bone lashed out over her head. Napstablook appeared beside her, easily keeping pace. “Follow me.” He took the lead and she followed him as he led her through the grass. “He can’t be caught in Undyne’s domain, which is why he’s sticking to the grass. Once you get out, you’ll be safe from him. At least for the time being.”

“How much further?” she asked desperately, trying not to lose sight of the ghost.

“Just a couple more feet. The grass is tricky. It’s made to confuse and get the being traversing it turned around. You’d been walking circles for about five minutes before he decided to start messing with you.” Finally, she broke free, lurching from the grass and scrambling as far away from it as she could get. She glanced backward, seeing only those glowing red eyes standing in the grass.

Sans gave a chuckle. “Until next time little Frisk.” Then the eyes were gone, leaving Tara panting and shivering.

“If we were walking in circles, then why didn’t you come in sooner to help,” Flowey demanded of Napstablook, looking cross. Napstablook gave a shrug.

“Because you were making _some_ progress. Just slowly. And I thought Sans was doing what I was doing.”

“And just what _are_ you doing?!” Flowey scowled.

“Following her to keep her safe. She is pure and she is the hope for all monsters. She must be protected at all costs.”

“If you’ve been following us, then you should’ve known that Sans is not our friend!”

“Well, I wasn’t able to follow you properly through Snowdin. Papyrus tries to kill me anytime he sees me there. So I had to stop following you there and wait for you by the entrance to Waterfall.”

“Please stop fighting,” Tara begged, closing her eyes. “I just… I need a moment.” She took a deep breath and stuck her head between her knees, trying to calm herself. If Sans was willing to leave Snowdin to follow her and taunt her, did that mean he was willing to follow her all the way to the barrier? Why? Was it because he saw her blood? Shouldn’t her blood give him the urge to protect her? It didn’t make sense. And it was frustrating. She couldn’t even properly protect herself from him, and the feeling of his magic holding her completely still while he touched her… It made her feel violated in the worst kind of way. Like he had not only groped her body, but also her soul. When he held her still, it felt like he was stroking her soul, tasting it.

“Are you okay Tara?” Flowey asked gently, turning those kind eyes to her.

“I-I don’t know,” she admitted, raising her head. “I hate this. I can’t even risk just simply knocking him on his stupid ass. The most I can risk is simply pushing him back a couple of feet. Not being allowed to defend myself is driving me insane.” Flowey frowned and opened his mouth to question her when Napstablook cut him off.

“Come on, follow me. My home isn’t far from here and it’ll be safe. You can rest up there and get your bearings without fear,” he stated. “The questions can wait until then.”

Tara nodded and slowly got to her feet, brushing herself off. With one last glance at the tall grass, she turned and began to follow Napstablook further into Waterfall.

~ ~ ~

“You’ve made several comments about not being allowed to defend yourself,” Flowey commented from the plant pot Napstablook had rustled up for him. Tara sat cross-legged on the floor, letting the warmth of Napstablook’s small home sink into her skin. “And I can tell how strong you are magically, but I’ve never seen you fight back with your magic. Shoving Sans was the most I’ve seen you do. At first, I thought you were just too pure to bring yourself to harm another creature, but it's something else, isn’t it?”

Tara nodded and took a deep breath. “So, I told you about the mage who came to me warning me of war coming to the Surface and how he told me I needed to raise the God of War.” Flowey nodded. “Well, that was simply his way of tricking me into raising the God of War. When my brother and I realized what I’d done, we had gone to the mage to demand answers. But in order to break free from Malik, the God of War, I had to break his hold on us.” She gestured to the brand on her left arm. “The mage was apparently a follower of Malik and called my actions a deliberate betrayal that needed to be punished. So he sent us down here. However, each of us got rules that we had to follow.”

“What are the rules?” Napstablook asked, carefully wrapping a bandage around her wounded arm. When she tried to refuse him before, he insisted stating that it hurt his soul to see her harmed in any way. So she relented to his medical treatments.

“For my brother, he’s allowed to defend himself, but he’s not allowed to kill anything. Other than that, he just has to make it to the barrier and escape. However, he was sent down here after me. So he couldn’t protect me. My rules were a bit more restrictive, probably because my magic would be giving me an unfair advantage otherwise. I’m not allowed to harm a single being down here, even in self-defense. Even a simple scratch caused by me would be considered the rule broken.”

“What happens if either of you breaks the rules?” Flowey asked. His face was dripping with concern as she carefully explained it. Tara took a deep breath.

“If my brother broke his rules, a Shade would take over my body and be given full control. And if I broke mine… The same would happen to him.” Silence fell over the other two as her words sunk in. She shook her head as the thought of that happening rose to the surface. “It’s almost ironic. If I could just hit someone like Sans once, it would all be over for that damn skeleton. But the consequences would last forever. I’d lose my brother forever.”

“So your only two options are to run or convince the monsters we encounter to not fight,” Flowey realized. She nodded in affirmation.

“On the Surface, I have no problem defending myself. I’ve run into creeps similar to Sans before and a simple fire spell, slight burn on their arm, and they back off. But down here, I can’t as even so much as flick Napstablook here without condemning my brother to life as a puppet.”

“I’m a ghost, flicking me wouldn’t do much,” Napstablook commented, giving Tara a toothy grin. She giggled at that, giving him a bright smile in return as his words lessened the severity of her rules by just a touch.

“Alright smartass, I’ll give you that one. Though excuse me if I don’t decide to test that theory.”

“Not a problem, I don’t feel like being flicked anyway. Seems like it might hurt.” He winked at her and that brought a full laugh spilling from her lips, her soul feeling like it was healing more. She smiled down at the floor and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I need to escape to right my wrongs and send Malik back to his tomb, but after my people are safe… I want to come back,” she admitted.

“Why on earth would you want to do such a thing?” Flowey asked in shock.

“Because I feel useful here. This is the most useful I’ve felt in so long. Bringing peace is my role in life. And the monsters here all need peace. If I can come back and bring peace to the monsters here, then that’s a goal worth working towards. And when I come back, I won’t have these restrictions.”

“Would you have that body or your real body?” Napstablook asked. Her head jerked up in shock and she stared at him. “Oh, after our encounter in the Ruins I saw you. It was just for a second, but I saw the real you. That’s when I realized I needed to protect you. Right now I can only see human you, but I did see the other you.”

“I saw it too, the first night you slept here,” Flowey confirmed. “Like Napstablook, it was only for a second, but it was enough. Though, like him, I’m just seeing human you now.”

“W-well, I’m pretty sure that I’d return in my true form. Though that’s interesting. I wonder what caused the glamour to fall for you both long enough to see my true form.” She frowned as she thought it over.

“For me, it was your words. I think,” Flowey offered. “You said something about a mage taking your real form and your real name as you fell asleep. Maybe that’s what triggers it?”

“That doesn’t explain Napstablook,” she pointed out. Napstablook frowned as he thought it over.

“Maybe it was our encounter? I mean, I’m a ghost. You’re a magic-user. I was ready for a fight until you warned me that a simple push of your mind and you could wipe me away,” he guessed. “I didn’t really want to risk it, so I let you pass. But I was so certain you would do it anyway. That’s usually how things go down here. But you didn’t, you spared me. Then as you walked by, I saw you for that second.” She shook her head and sighed.

“That still doesn’t give me the answer. I just wish I knew how to replicate it. If monsters could plainly see that I’m not human, then there would be no purpose to trying to kill me.”

“I don’t think relying on that is a good idea,” Flowey said. “Especially since we don’t know what triggers it. It could be different for each monster. I mean, you tried to spare Sans and he didn’t see you.” Tara nodded in agreement.

“Are you ready to press on?” Napstablook asked. “I can lead you through Waterfall easily. There are a few short-cuts that only I know of. We can bypass just about everything to the end with no risk of Sans being able to follow us.”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” she confirmed. “Hotland is next, right?” Flowey nodded, his eyes looking stern.

“It is. And we’re going to be packing extra water.”

~ ~ ~

“Halt human,” the fish lady stated firmly as she stood ground in front of the exit of Waterfall and the connection to Hotland. “I am known as Undyne. And this is my domain. I wish to know the name of the human before I take your soul.”

Undyne was an interesting monster. Her bright red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and beautifully complimented her blue skin. She had a black eye patch over her left eye, but her right eye glowed yellow. When she spoke, Tara could clearly see her sharp teeth. She was dressed in combat boots, ripped jeans, and a tight black shirt that had the image of a broken heart in the center. She held a golden spear in one hand.

Tara was enthralled at first glance.

“My name is Tara, and I must say Undyne… You are absolutely gorgeous,” Tara replied. Undyne blinked in shock.

“U-um F-frisk huh? What a weird name human.”

“I’ve heard it before. I am in love with your fangs though. Are all your teeth sharp like that, or only the front ones? And your ears! Breath-taking!” Tara took a couple of steps forward eagerly. “Before taking my soul, would you mind if I got a closer look?”

“Y-you’re quite the odd human. Most are terrified at my presence!”

“Terrified? Gods why?! You’re amazing! I’m honestly shocked you aren’t peeling admirers off your arms at all times!” Tara took the chance and hurried up to Undyne, gently stroking her side fins.

“Wow, you really aren’t human…” Flowey muttered from her pocket. She ignored him. It wasn’t every day she got the chance to encounter a creature of such beauty and she’d be damned if she was going to give up this chance.

“Your ears are so beautifully pointed.” Taking note of the uncomfortable look on Undyne’s face, Tara quickly moved back. “Oh, am I making you uncomfortable? I’m so terribly sorry!”

“You’re not messing with me?” Undyne asked with a frown. “You honestly believe I’m… Pretty?”

Tara laughed lightly. “Pretty? No, you’re beautiful. I have a thing for perfectly pointed ears like that. I would love to get to know you better Undyne.” She smiled brightly.

“We’re on a time limit here,” Napstablook pointed out from the shadows, getting a grumble of agreement from Flowey. Tara deflated slightly as they pulled her back to reality.

“That’s true. But I don’t really want to fight her. Undyne, do you mind if I just run? You can definitely steal my soul another time, but I have a promise that I need to keep and I’d rather not risk marring your perfection.” Undyne jerked in shock at the request, her hand reaching up to touch her eye patch gently.

~ ~ ~

As Undyne faced with this truly odd human, the human’s form seemed to slip away. Undyne’s lips parted as she was faced, not with a smiling girl, but instead with a smiling woman who was so bright. It was only for a second, but Undyne only needed that second for the image to sear into her mind. The woman seemed to emit peace and every aspect of her called for Undyne to be protected at all cost. She was kind and compassionate. Too good for this world, or any world. And she certainly wasn’t human. Even after Undyne was faced with the human girl once more, she couldn’t forget that image. _If she isn’t human, then I don’t have to fight her. I don’t have to harm her. I can justify protecting her. I can justify allowing her to pass safely._

“You may pass,” she found herself saying. The girl’s smile seemed to brighten that much further.

“Thank you! And I promise I’ll return. Maybe we can have that conversation over tea?” With that, the girl moved past Undyne and into the area of Hotland.

“Undyne, a word?” Napstablook asked softly. Undyne turned to him.

“What is it, ghost?”

“You saw her, did you not?” Undyne hesitated but ultimately nodded. “You want to protect her as I do, and as Flowey does?” Undyne nodded again. “Sans is stalking her. And not for anything good. She isn’t able to defend herself properly against him and she has a brother that is lagging behind who she truly cares for. I want to help her through Hotland to keep her from falling for any of Alphys’ schemes and out of Mettaton’s clutches, but I think I’d be better served going back to the entrance of Waterfall and keeping an eye out for her brother.”

“I can do my best to bar Sans entry from Hotland, but he can teleport,” Undyne said with a frown. “I’m not sure I could keep him from following her into Hotland, especially as Hotland is not my domain.”

“At the least, can you wait for me to return here with her brother? From what she’s told me of him, he’s an extraordinary warrior. If he were able to be by her side, he could protect her from all harm. Then you and I can bring him through the fastest route in Hotland to be by her side.”

“That can be arranged. I’ll be here guarding the exit until your return.”

“Until my return then.” Napstablook faded from view as Undyne took up her firm post once more, almost feeling a bit eager with the knowledge that there was hope for the Underground after all. Maybe peace could return to these monsters.

~ ~ ~

_Three days._ Tyler rubbed his face as he made his way through the Snowdin town. _First chance I get, I’m going to stab that fucking skeleton._ It took him three days to get through that forest. Between being attacked constantly, his sister’s magic seemingly all over the place and never heading in any specific direction, and all the puzzles he had to work his way through it took him three entire days to get back to the town. He took a breath as he looked around, taking note of the slight changes from his limited perspective of the town three days prior.

While he only saw a small piece of it from the window before he went charging after his sister, it definitely seemed more lively now. Monsters were hurrying around from house to house, eagerly packing their things. Papyrus was standing in the town center and seemed to be making a speech to the monsters.

“If she is pure light then there is hope for monsters after all! We do not require to fight because she will certainly take down the barrier for us! We must have everything packed and ready for her return! No one likes waiting on an unprepared monster!” Papyrus was shouting to the denizens of Snowdin. Tyler chuckled slightly at that, a slight grin on his face. He avoided all the monsters, no point in taking chances after all when the exit was in reach, but it was… Almost nice to see.

_Tara would love this,_ he thought to himself as he moved past the town and towards the entrance to Waterfall. His sister loved her role in the world. Bringing peace was something that brought her so much joy and lifted her soul up. Though it was odd to think that this specific peace wasn’t even technically brought upon by his sister, but instead by him. His words to Papyrus broke through to the skeleton and brought hope. It wasn’t his role in the world to bring peace, but he could understand why his sister loved it so much.

Tyler made his way into the cavern he’d watched his sister disappear into, the chill of the snow leaving slowly. He breathed a sigh of relief as he almost immediately caught onto his sister’s magical trail, following it closely.

Oddly enough, a statue was almost gleaming with her magical signature, but there was nothing there to indicate why. He shrugged it off and pushed onward.

“There you are!” someone called out suddenly not long afterward, causing Tyler to swiftly draw his sword and turn to face the voice. An annoyed looking ghost floated nearby. “Honestly, what took you so long? I mean, you must be her brother, but what took you? I’ve been circling Waterfall for three days thinking I’d missed you somehow! Ugh, we’ve lost so much time!”

“Who are you?” Tyler demanded, not willing to allow himself to be fooled by a potential threat.

“Look, I’m Napstablook. I know your sister. She’s not human, so you know I’m for real, now come _on_. We need to get you to her quickly. She’s definitely already through Hotland by now, probably even through the Core. We need to save time and take the shortest route.” Tyler swiftly weighed the pros and cons of trusting this ghost before sheathing his sword and giving a slight shrug.

“Alright, lead the way then.”

Napstablook took Tyler off the set path that Tara had clearly taken, weaving through secret passages and hidden routes. If Tyler had his time frame correct, at least one of those three days were made up for by the time they reached the end of Waterfall, much to his relief. On the way, Napstablook explained the plan and what had occurred with his sister.

“Hey, I’m Undyne,” the monster called out as he and Napstablook approached. “Took you long enough.”

“Not my fault. A jackass skeleton teleported me back to the exit of the Ruins,” Tyler grumbled.

“Shit.” Undyne winced. “Sorry to hear that. But not to worry. With Napstablook and I as your guides, we’ll be able to get you to her as soon as possible. I’ve been told you’re her best chance. So what’s your name? Because I’m not going to be calling you ‘Frisk’s brother’ the entire time we travel together.”

“Tyler and who the hell is Frisk?” Undyne and Napstablook both gave him blank looks.

“Your name is… Frisk? But your sister’s name is Frisk,” Napstablook argued. Tyler frowned.

“Uh, no. Her name is Tara and my name is Tyler.”

“You just said, ‘No, her name is Frisk and my name is Frisk,’” Undyne pointed out. “I’m confused. What’s going on here?” Tyler snarled in annoyance.

“That stupid mage must’ve glamoured our names so anyone who hears it just hears ‘Frisk’ instead.” Like a light bulb going off, Tyler flashed a grin. “T-y-l-e-r is my name. T-a-r-a is her name.”

“Tyler and Tara?” Napstablook asked. Tyler nodded.

“Yes! Tyler and Tara!”

“Hey, I understood you that time,” Undyne cheered. She and Napstablook shared a high-five. “Heh, that was pretty clever Tyler. Why doesn’t your sister just do that when introducing herself?” Tyler motioned for them to walk and talk, and they began to head into Hotland.

“She probably thinks the name change is a form of psychological torment instead of glamour. She wouldn’t bother trying to find a way around it. Maybe easier to just go with the flow?”

“Do you have the same brand she does?” Napstablook asked suddenly, peering at his left arm, which was covered by the gray sweatshirt he wore. Tyler nodded and gripped his right sleeve, tearing it off easily, and earning himself a whistle of appreciation from Undyne.

“So, from what she explained, it's these brands that link you to that Malik dude, right?”

“Yeah. She was able to break the hold with her magic, but it didn’t last long. By the time the brand was back in effect, we were far enough away from him so he couldn’t force us to do his bidding.”

“Sounds like the best way to ensure her safety once you guys get out is to figure out a way to permanently cancel out this brand,” Undyne commented. “Mind sharing the full story? Might help to have an outside perspective on the situation.”

So Tyler did. He explained everything from when the mage first appeared to their eventual punishment enacted by Andrew. When he finished, Napstablook and Undyne were silent as they thought the situation over.

“So, from what you’ve explained, your brand throbs whenever you cause any damage to it?” Undyne asked. Tyler nodded. “Let me test something.” She reached out with her spear and prodded the brand, causing Tyler to wince as the entire brand throbbed at him. She didn’t even prod him hard enough to do damage.

“You just made it all throb with one little poke,” Tyler grumbled, rubbing his arm.

“It’s a warning!” Napstablook shouted excitedly. Undyne and Tyler stared at him. He rushed to explain. “It’s basically a warning saying, ‘Don’t allow harm to come to me.’” Undyne’s lips parted as she realized what Napstablook was implying.

“So, maybe, if we completely remove it, then the hold will be broken. I mean, it’s just a brand,” she suggested.

“Maybe, but I’m not willing to risk my sister’s arm on a theory.” Tyler shook his head. “And it’s a huge piece of my arm. No offense Undyne, I’m certain that you’re good with that spear, but I’m not willing to risk bleeding to death over this theory.” Undyne smirked suddenly.

“I think we should pay a certain scientist a visit in Hotland. And if we get her on our side, we can essentially skip the Core with her clearance level.”

“If it’ll help keep my sister safe and confirm the theory to break us from his hold… Shit, why not?” Tyler shrugged and Undyne gave him a gleaming grin.

“I think I’m going to enjoy traveling with you, Tyler.”

“I feel the same.”

~ ~ ~

Sans rubbed his fingers against the shirtsleeve Frisk had left behind. He had watched her do something magic to it and tie it to the statue. Clearly, a hint left for her brother. So he took it. But the moment he touched it…

It was just _saturated_ with her magical essence. He may not have been able to know exactly what she did to it, but he could tell it was harmless and the taste of her magic was intoxicating. He chuckled as he wrapped the sleeve around his neck like a scarf, inhaling the essence, his eyes rolling upwards at the taste. She truly was… _Delicious_.

~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was less about how Tara gets through Waterfall and more about how she builds connections with those around her. And before anyone asks: Yes. Yes, she was being 100% genuine with Undyne lol What can I say? Tara's got a thing for ears.
> 
> Originally, I was going to have Undyne chase her through Waterfall before their showdown at the end where she is able to convince Undyne to give up the fight. But it felt too similar to what I just did with Snowdin, so I scrapped it. I knew I wanted to get Undyne on Team Tara because I knew Undyne was going to be teaming up with Tyler. Tara has Flowey so Tyler gets Undyne. As I was writing, I got this idea for a twist I could employ with the tall grass section. And Sans IS meant to be this fic's main antagonist, so I knew I wanted him to show up in some way. Having a creepy scene with him stalking her through the tall grass while she's confused and turned around seemed like a fun idea and it was so much fun to write. I love my villains and I love writing them and Sans is so much fun to write as a villain. He just checks every villain box perfectly.
> 
> Tyler's portion wasn't given as much love because it was mostly just bypassing Waterfall, then theorizing how best to bypass the brands with Undyne and Napstablook. But I did it that way on purpose. Tyler is one-track minded "Protect Tara." It's his job. If I was going to keep them separate throughout the sections, I needed a believable reason for him to need to play catch-up. So stumbling through the forest for three days seemed like the best solution. But because we already traveled the forest with Tara, it felt like it would be redundant to sit through while he did it as well, and it would drag down the story. The way I *currently* have it figured in my head is: By the time he reaches Waterfall, Tara has already reached the Core and is probably at least part-way through it. He saves a day in Waterfall and will save at least half a day in Hotland (Taking into account their detour to "The Royal Scientist"). I'll keep the chapter structure the same (Tara travels through Hotland, Tyler travels through Hotland) but the timeline will be a bit skewed. I hope this doesn't cause confusion!


	4. Hotland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans triggers some memories in Tara that she would rather forget as she makes her way through Hotland.
> 
> Tyler, Undyne, and Napstablook are able to test their theory concerning the brand with the help of the Royal Scientist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Trigger Warning!* The second flashback in this chapter has a scene of sexual assault - nothing is explicit and nothing is shown. But do be warned.

“ _His name is Carter,” the woman explained shakily, her eyes swollen from crying. She was rubbing a small picture depicting a young boy. “He’s only ten.” She pushed the picture towards me, eyes pleading with me to bring her a miracle. I carefully took the picture from her, trying not to move too quickly. My eyes flicked downwards to look at the photo, my heart sinking at the sight._

_Carter was a young boy with messy brown hair, a wide smile, and adorable brown eyes. In the picture, he was wearing a yellow sweater and brown pants. He looked like he was having the time of his life. I couldn’t understand why he ran away from home._

“ _Why did he run away again?” the guard beside me asked, his tone clearly expressing his boredom. I resisted the urge to shove him from the home and bar him entry. Carter’s mother sniffed and wiped her fingers under her eyes._

“ _We got into an argument. I told him that he couldn’t play with his friends up near the mountains because it was dangerous. He told me that everyone was doing it and it wasn’t fair. It escalated from there until he got so frustrated that he ran out of the house. I thought he was just going to cool off, I mean it’s happened before, but he didn’t come back. I spent all night trying to find him, but it was like he vanished,” she explained._

“ _So this isn’t the first time he’s run away,” the guard commented, closing his notebook._

“ _Well, no. But he’s always back within a couple of hours! It’s been three days! Something has to have happened to him!”_

“ _Or he’s still mad and hiding out at a friend’s place,” the guard countered._

“ _None of his friends have seen him!”_

“ _Peace,” I said softly, placing my hands over hers. The proper rune appeared in my mind and I gently eased some magic into her hands, taking some of her stress away and grounding it into the earth. “We will do our very best to discover what happened to your boy. This will not be a lingering question that you must live with.”_

“ _Thank you… Thank you so much…”_

_Once outside, Tyler returned to his place by my side to stand as my silent guardian as we walked away from the home, the picture still in my grasp. I flipped my white hood over my head as my mind considered the possibilities._

“ _You shouldn’t have told her that,” the guard told me as he stuck a cigarette between his lips, lighting up. “Kid is probably fine and will be back in a couple of days' time.”_

“ _Do humans always have such a general disregard for the well-being of their own?” Tyler asked, snatching the cigarette from the guard’s lips and crushing it in his hand. “Don’t smoke around my sister. Second-hand smoke is a killer.” The guard scoffed._

“ _I forget your kind is all about that hive-mind ideology. Why are you bothering us humans if we annoy you so much?”_

“ _There is a difference between caring about the health of another being and having a hive-mind ideology,” Tyler pointed out._

“ _Whatever. Look just stay out of our way toots and let the big boys handle this one. We don’t need help from one of you.” His eyes raked up and down over my body in a way that made my stomach twist and my blood boil. “Unless you want to offer to help in other ways.”_

_Tyler immediately got in the guard’s face and snarled, as only one of our kind can do. The guard’s eyes widened as Tyler’s blood screamed out for him to run and hide. There was a scent of urine as the guard wet himself staring into Tyler’s eyes, which caused me to roll my own. I pulled Tyler back gently and smiled at him sweetly._

“ _While I appreciate it, brother, I am capable of defending myself,” I said tenderly. He grumbled but stepped back. I got in the guard’s face and snarled myself, letting my anger show clearly in my eyes. The guard’s facial expression changed from one of pure fear to pure remorse. The rune appeared in my mind and I pushed my magic outwards, forcing the guard to his knees._

“ _Listen and listen closely human,” I stated darkly. “I was called in to do my job, which is to bring peace to that woman. Whether that be by bringing her boy back or bringing her knowledge of his fate, that is exactly what we will be doing. You may believe that your kind is at the top of the food chain, but you are not. You are not my better, her better, or anyone’s better. Just as I am not anyone’s better.” And just to fuck with him, as the power of my blood was still surging over him, I added, “You have brought me harm with your words.”_

_Tyler and I left him sobbing out apologies for even thinking of harming me and begging to know what he could do to make it up to me._

“ _What is our next step?” I asked Tyler. “I could do a location spell, but that would take some time and if he’s too far away or dead, it won’t work.”_

“ _And it would considerably drain you,” Tyler pointed out. He got his thinking face on as he considered everything he’d heard from his position outside the home. “I would suggest heading up towards that mountain. If the argument centered around the danger of the mountain, a child may believe the way to get what he wants is to prove that it’s not dangerous. I’ll keep my eyes out for any magical signatures as we walk.”_

“ _We are meant to be working in coordination with the humans,” I reminded him as we began to head up towards the mountains. Tyler snorted._

“ _I think we may have burned that bridge when I made that one piss himself and you forced him to grovel at your feet.” I wrinkled my nose._

“ _Sexual harassment is a real problem in the workplace, brother! We were merely defending my honor! And he didn’t truly get hurt!” Tyler laughed and shook his head at me._

“ _Unless you count his pride.” I waved a hand at that._

“ _His pride deserved some harm. Imagine if he said something like that to Lillian!”_

“ _If he said something like that to Lillian, his guts would be on the floor,” Tyler replied darkly. “The only question would be if it were me or her who did the deed.”_

_As we climbed the mountain, Tyler sniffed the air for any sign of people coming around here recently. I used my magic to ask the land for easier traversal and to lead us to where the children usually played._

“ _Only your magic coming up here,” Tyler reported. “But there is the smell of children that lingers in the air. It’s old, however. The children haven’t come up here in a couple of days.” I pulled my hands from the ground and nodded to the path heading to the left._

“ _The mountain says the children would take that path to play,” I told him. Tyler’s brow furrowed._

“ _I can smell children taking the other path, however. Too old to determine how many.” I glanced at the sky and sighed._

“ _Well, we’re losing daylight. And while we may not have issues seeing at night, the human guards may come up here searching for us. They don’t have the best vision.”_

“ _Any longer and I’ll lose the scent. You head back down and I’ll finish scouting to see where the trail leads. Try not to harm any more pride while I’m gone, eh?” I laughed at that and nodded my agreement before turning and heading back down the mountain, towards the worst night of my life._

~ ~ ~

Tara’s eyes snapped open. She rose from her makeshift bed of Flowey’s roots and glanced over at the flower, still dozing. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself as the dream-memory lingered in her mind. There weren’t many things people had to counter-act her magic. But she rarely had a good time when she encountered one. She shivered, even in the overwhelming heat of Hotland, and tried to shove the memory away. _Damn that Sans, he’s bringing all kinds of memories back that I’d prefer to forget about._

“Tara?” Flowey mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes with his leaves. “Are you okay?” Tara blinked away the memories and forced a smile on her face.

“Of course, just a bad dream,” she said softly. “Go on back to sleep now.” Flowey yawned and nodded slowly before drifting back off to sleep again. Tara released a breath and pressed a fist over her heart, remembering the promise she’d made to herself that night. _Never again will I allow anyone to hold control over me that I do not want._ The sounds of bones breaking reverberated through her skull as she recalled Tyler’s retribution for that night. She scowled down at the brand on her left shoulder. _Soon. Soon, we will fix what I have done._

She didn’t sleep for the rest of the night, staring out for any sign of those glowing red eyes that currently hunted her. Memories couldn’t harm her further. Sans could.

~ ~ ~

Sans watched from the shadows as Frisk sat awake, every so often wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. Was it him that kept her awake at night? He hoped so. Even if he enjoyed watching her sleep, it was only fun when she wasn’t so clearly lost in a nightmare. He took another taste of her magical essence from the sleeve wrapped around his neck.

He was pretty disgusted by how quickly Undyne gave herself over to Frisk. He was disgusted by how his own brother gave into this pathetic idea of hope. _There is no such thing. It’s kill or be killed._ The only hope a monster had was to be strong enough to take a human’s soul and strong enough to escape with it. Watching this little human girl go around and just… Changing these monsters. It sickened him. He wouldn’t allow it to happen to him. He was stronger than that.

~ ~ ~

Tara sucked in a breath and took another swig from the water flask she had on hand. When Flowey had packed what she considered an excessive amount of water, she had figured it was overkill. Now? She was worried that perhaps he didn’t pack enough. Hotland truly did live up to its name. Flowey watched on with concern as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

“This sweatshirt needs to go,” she gasped, feeling the fabric clinging to her skin. Vines sprung up from the ground and clung to her wrists to stop her from simply peeling it off and chucking it down into the lava.

“Tara!” Flowey chastised her, eyes wide. “What else will you wear?!” _Nothing if I could get away with it._ She groaned at him and dropped her hands.

“Are monsters truly so triggered by skin? Showing skin is a sign of strength among my people. We are proud of all marks the world gives us,” she grumbled. Flowey seemed appalled. It was almost cute.

“Does that mean you walk around naked usually?” he asked in a whisper like he was discussing something dirty. Tara grinned, briefly considered messing with him, before deciding against it.

“No, we cover our private areas. But the only time my kind truly wears more than is needed to appear presentable is when it is extremely cold. Here, at least help me tear this shirt up a bit so it’s not so suffocatingly hot.”

With a bit of struggle, the two of them managed to rip off the remaining sleeve and the portion of the shirt that covered her stomach. The relief was almost instantaneous. Tara spilled a bit of the cool water over her head, sighing in relief. She slicked back her hair and gave Flowey a reassuring nod.

“Much better, come on. Let’s push on.”

As they walked, however, Tara began to notice something a bit odd about herself. When she first woke in the Underground, she definitely had the appearance and body of a girl. Not necessarily a child, but still definitely a young girl. Her shorts fell to her mid-thigh and her sweatshirt had been a bit loose. She had only the briefest bumps to represent breasts. Now? Those shorts were definitely stopping before her mid-thigh. The shirt felt tighter against her skin, more form-fitting than loose. And her breasts had definitely increased in size. She was easily able to sweep her hair up and tie it back with a string she’d plucked from the ruined shirt. Even the shoes felt much too small for her feet. It was like this body had aged years in the handful of days she’d been down here.

So either time moved differently in the Underground, a thought that brought her panic as she considered her people or something else was at play.

“You seem concerned about something,” a robot voice questioned her. She glanced to the side, seeing a four-armed robot striding towards her. “Oh my, could it be your impending doom?” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“One area,” she muttered. “I just want one area that I can simply just walk through without a care in the world.”

“You will have to speak up there, I’m afraid I did not catch that,” the robot informed her.

“That’s Mettaton,” Flowey whispered to her. “I don’t know why he’s here. Alphys usually has him patrolling the Core. Hotland should’ve been the easiest place to move through unnoticed.”

“Look pal, it’s hot. I’m tired. I shouldn’t be concerned about seeing you until the Core,” Tara complained. “Can’t we just agree to save this fight to the death or whatever it is you have planned until then?” Mettaton laughed at that.

“If you continue the path you are taking, you will not make it to the Core in one piece before my creator catches you,” he informed her.

“Kind of hard to catch a magical being that doesn’t want to be caught,” Tara remarked sarcastically.

“This is true. Which is why my creator spends time, money, and effort in making sure she has numerous ways to counter-act all magical abilities. And your magical signature is sending all kinds of warnings through her systems, no offense.”

“None taken? Look, if your creator is all prepared for my arrival then why are you warning me? Why not let me just waltz into one of her traps to bite the bullet.”

“Because I wish for you to free me from her.”

~ ~ ~

“Explain this to me again, slowly,” Tara begged, pacing in the small room Mettaton had escorted her to. It’d taken a while for Mettaton to convince her and Flowey to follow him off the beaten path to this room, but it did have a form of cooling. Tara was grateful for that at least.

“My creator has been monitoring your progress since you first awoke in the Ruins. As I’m her ‘weapon’ she, naturally, forwarded all video recordings to me for evaluation in case you do make it to the Core,” Mettaton explained. “As I watched the recordings, I noticed multiple odd flickers in the transmission. Twice in the Ruins. Once in Snowdin. Once in Waterfall. After further analysis, I decided to cross-reference with your brother’s progress and noticed the same oddities. A flicker in the Ruins. A flicker in Snowdin. The flickers with your brother were more pronounced, so I cross-referenced _that_ and—”

“I said slowly,” Tara begged, her head spinning with all the technical talk. This was more her brother’s speed than it was her own. Mettaton took an unneeded deep breath and tried again.

“I realized that neither you nor your brother was human. It wasn’t possible. With this realization, I was able to manually disable my creator’s command to kill you and bring her your soul. However, I was not aware of any being living on the Surface that wasn’t human. So I felt the need to know what you and your brother are. As well as how you are able to live on the Surface peacefully among humans. Is it because you disguise yourself as human?”

“There are many races that live on the Surface that aren’t human,” Tara said, blinking at him. “Why on earth do you believe otherwise?”

“Because it was the humans who forced the monsters to live in the Underground. Any race that wasn’t human was forced into the Underground. I should know, as I was alive then.”

“What? How long ago was this?!”

“Roughly about ten thousand years ago. I am a robot inhabited by a ghost and monsters are mostly immortal beings made of pure magic.” Tara stood in silence. She had assumed these monsters initially chose to live in the Underground or had been banished here for one reason or another. To hear that they were _forced_ to live under these conditions, for ten thousand years no less, without the usual cycle of life that would normally wipe such memories through the generations… She understood now why these monsters had slowly lost their minds and fell into a spiral of violence, willing to do anything for their freedom.

“Why would the humans do such a thing?” she asked, kneeling before Mettaton and placing her hands over his. The familiar rune filled her head and she was pressing her magic outward without a second thought, every bit of the training she went through as a child calling on her to help ease this being’s pain.

“I don’t know. No one knows.” Mettaton gave a shrug. “One day the humans came to our villages and demanded we leave the Surface and live in the Underground. We refused and demanded explanations. They gave none and simply attacked. We fought best we could, but we were overwhelmed by their force. Once we were pushed down into the Underground, seven human mages created the barrier to keep us trapped down here. And so here we remain. Waiting for the day when a human falls down here so we may take their soul and escape.” Mettaton raised his head to look Tara in the eye, his own flashing in a way that made Tara feel a bit on edge. “Which raises the question: why _your_ kind was allowed to live beside them and _ours_ was not.”

Tara let out a screech of pain as a shock blasted through her body. She tried to yank her hands from Mettaton’s grasp, but he held on firm. His eyes gleamed orange as he delivered another shock through her body.

“Tara!” Flowey cried out, shooting small white bullets of magic at Mettaton. Mettaton ignored them, his attention focused solely on Tara.

“I truly am sorry for this. I do hope you can free me from my creator, but until you can I find that I must follow all her orders. You may not be human, but she believes you would be a valuable research subject.”

“Too bad I’ve already staked a claim.” A blast of magic and Mettaton was pushed away from Tara. Tara struggled to raise her head, her vision blurry and darkening. She saw familiar basketball shoes enter her field of vision and she groaned in pain. “You’re much too trusting doll. We’ll have to work on that.” A skeletal hand reached out for her when Mettaton slammed himself into Sans, the two flying through the door.

“I will not fail in the order my creator has given me,” Mettaton stated firmly.

“Tara get up! Please!” Flowey pleaded, his leaves tugging at her. Aftershocks were still causing Tara to twitch in pain and she couldn’t even feel her own magic. She couldn’t even open her mouth to reassure Flowey. Her body begged her to give in to the darkness, even as she tried to fight it. The sounds of fighting outside continued to rage on and she wasn’t certain who she was rooting for at this point. Maybe she’d get lucky and they’d destroy each other.

“Those silly boys playing with their toys. Come little princess, let’s play in my domain,” a sweet voice whispered to her as she felt herself being lifted by multiple arms. Something sharp pressed into the side of her neck and Tara gave into the darkness.

~ ~ ~

_I walked into the local tavern, a bit winded from my walk back down the mountain. I flashed the waitress a smile as she nodded towards an empty table and came over to take my order._

“ _What will it be?” she asked sweetly with a smile._

“ _Something filling,” I requested. “And water will suffice.” She nodded and wrote something down on her pad before hesitating._

“ _Um, does your kind eat meat?” she asked carefully, obviously a bit nervous of offending me. “Sorry, we just don’t usually get your kind around these parts. It’s a bit out of the way for you, isn’t it?”_

_I chuckled at her question and gave her a flash of my teeth. “Yes, my kind do indeed eat meat.” She gave a nod and snapped her pad shut before heading towards the kitchen. I let out a small breath and flicked my hood off my head as I let myself relax in the chair._

“ _Hey, you’re the chick who the sheriff called in to handle the missing boy,” someone called out to me. I glanced over to see a guard sitting at the bar, staring at me. I gave a nod to him. His outfit stated to me that he was of a higher rank than the guard I had dealt with earlier that day. “So you’re also the one who left Greg a bumbling mess in the middle of town.”_

“ _He was rude and made untoward comments towards me,” I replied with a sniff of indifference. “I simply reminded him what kind of behavior is acceptable towards a woman and what kind is not.”_

“ _Uh huh… You know, in the real world and not the mystical one, we simply report that behavior. We don’t take revenge.”_

“ _Then I suppose it’s a good thing that I didn’t take revenge.” A waitress—not the one from before—placed a cup of water in front of me, which I sipped carefully. I frowned at the oddly sweet taste._

“ _I don’t appreciate my brother being forced to grovel at the feet of a freak,” she hissed in my ear. I blinked in surprise as I felt my magic slowly weakening, the call of my blood diminishing. The guard stood and walked over to me._

“ _Now we can talk on equal terms,” the guard commented, sitting opposite of me. I scowled and flicked the cup of water away with my fingers. The waitress humphed and flicked her hair off her shoulder before stalking off._

“ _Have fun Charles,” she called over her shoulder._

“ _Were we not talking on equal terms before?” I asked Charles, leaning back in the chair and crossing my arms._

“ _Not if the moment I said something you didn’t like, you’d have forced me to my knees and made me beg your holiness for forgiveness for whatever transgression you believed I inflicted upon you.” I rolled my eyes at that._

“ _The most that was harmed was his pride for insinuating that the best I could do to assist in the investigation of the missing boy was to allow him and his friends to fuck me. The effect would’ve worn off the second I left his line of sight.”_

“ _You pulled your voodoo witchcraft on him because he made a joke? Man, it’s amazing how you freaks walk around with that stick up your ass all day.”_

“ _I am more than happy to apologize to this Greg for my treatment of him once he apologizes for his comment towards me.” I spread my hands in a show of peace. “I am not here to cause unrest. I am simply here to either find a lost child or discover the fate of a lost child in order to bring peace to a panic-stricken mother. Once my mission is complete, my brother and I will be gone.”_

_Charles made a motion with his hands and my hackles rose as a couple of other guards from the bar stood to go lock the tavern doors._

“ _You can apologize to Greg on your knees slut.” Charles reached out towards me and I quickly shoved myself away from the table, nimbly evading his hand. I snarled and snapped at him, earning a laugh from the other guards._

“ _She’s little more than an animal boys!” one of them called out. I stood fluidly as Charles came at me with all his strength. I easily danced away from his grabbing arms and lifted the chair I’d been sitting on, slamming it into his back. He cried out as he spilled to the floor. I growled as I tossed the remains of the chair aside._

“ _You seem to forget that I am more than my magic. I am naturally stronger and faster than you are with much better reflexes.”_

“ _That’s why I brought friends,” Charles groaned. The other guards charged towards me and I swiftly evaded the first two before the third wrapped his arms around me from behind. I slammed the back of my head into his face, jumping up to kick out with both feet against the guard coming for my front. The guard released me and I moved away, punching another in the face._

_Then that bitch of a waitress slammed a bottle against my head._

_I tumbled to the floor with a cry of pain and the guards rushed to hold me down. Even dazed, it took five guards to properly hold me down as I continued to kick out and struggle._

“ _Remember not to make her bleed boys,” Charles ordered. “The second she starts bleeding, we become her pathetic pawns.”_

“ _Get off me!” I screeched. One guard made the mistake of trying to cover my mouth with his hand. All I tasted was his blood as I bit down as hard as I could, allowing my teeth to do what they were designed to do. He cried out in pain and struggled to pull his hand away. Charles kicked me in the head and my vision blurred as I released the guard’s hand._

_Then my clothes were being torn away. And the next thing I remembered was lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. I felt empty. Even as I felt the drug begin to fade and my magic stir to life once more, I couldn’t do anything. The guards were laughing at me._

_Then the door to the tavern crashed inward and my dark angel walked in full of fury. The waitress screamed at the sight of him. I think she cowered behind the bar. Tyler met my eyes once. Then he grabbed the first guard in reach and easily lifted him up and off the floor before tossing him against the wall like he was nothing. My eyes watched as the guards scrambled to get as far from Tyler as possible. They were begging for mercy. He gave them enough mercy to ensure they wouldn’t die from their injuries._

_When he was finished, he turned back towards me and removed his black cloak, covering my body with it. Then he gently lifted me up as other guards raced into the bar and shouted at him to put me down and surrender._

“ _Tell them what occurred here,” Tyler commanded. The waitress, as if she were a puppet on strings, stood. Her face was terrified and haunted, tears streaking down her face. She quickly recited everything from the moment I walked in to the point of the guards arriving. Then she crumbled to the ground before Tyler, begging for mercy and forgiveness. The guards who’d arrived simply looked shocked. Tyler snarled down at the woman, catching her eye. “Your punishment is to remember what you allowed to happen. Remember how you assisted seven men in the rape of another woman.” Then Tyler shoved past the guards at the door and exited the tavern._

“ _They took my magic,” I whispered. “I could only fight back for so long.”_

“ _Hush, sister. It’s going to be alright. They will never touch you again. Never again will another being touch you like that again. I swear to it by the Gods above and below. I will die before I allow that to happen.”_

~ ~ ~

Tara woke with a start in a dark room, cradled in webs.

“Flowey?” she called out in a panic. “Flowey?!”

“I’m here!” he called back, popping out of the ground near her. “Sorry, Muffet suggested leaving you in here to sleep it off.” His eyes took in her shaking form and he began to pet her face in distress. “Are you hurting somewhere? Where does it hurt? What can I do?”

“Bad memories?” a gentle voice asked from the shadows. Tara’s eyes slid over to see a tall purple woman with six arms, three on each side, and five eyes. A spider monster. Explained the webs.

Tara simply nodded to answer the woman’s question, earning a look of sympathy from her. The woman approached slowly and poured some tea into a cup, handing it to Tara. With the memory stuck in her mind, Tara hesitated to drink it.

“My name is Muffet, and I know all about the trials other women face at the hands of others,” the woman said gently, sitting beside Tara. A hand rested on Tara’s and Muffet gave her a gentle smile. “Use your magic and sense my intentions.” So Tara did exactly that. She called the necessary rune to her mind and pushed out with her magic. She felt only kindness, compassion, and concern.

“You’re much different than the other monsters I’ve encountered,” Tara admitted, taking a sip from the cup of tea. Muffet gave a shrug.

“Spiders are used to living in the dark. It will take more than ten thousand years down here for me to slip into insanity. And you are a kind soul. I sensed you saved a few of my spiders down in the Ruins and decided to repay the favor. Now, I can only give you protection while you’re here in my cave. Once you decide to press onward, I will be unable to assist you further. But I can restock your provisions and perhaps get you a more comfortable change of clothes.” Tara nodded in relief.

“Thank you so much.” Muffet gave a smile and clapped her middle hands together. A bunch of spiders began moving about to carry out the request. “Who won between Sans and Mettaton?” Tara found herself asking.

“My spiders tell me that once they realized you were gone, Sans teleported away and Mettaton began to head towards the Core in an attempt to cut you off.” She gave a sigh. “Do not hold the experience against Mettaton. He does not possess his own free will currently.”

“I don’t. I know all too well what it’s like to be someone’s puppet.”

“I do hope you make your way to freedom, young one. You deserve more than what this place does to you.” She kissed Tara on the temple as the spiders returned with a new outfit ready to go. Muffet gave a pleased sigh. “I truly love magic. Come now, let’s get you changed.”

When Tara finished changing, she wore a loose-fitting half-shirt that was blood red with short sleeves and two maroon horizontal stripes across her chest. Black shorts comfortably took over her previous shorts, these were paired with thin black stockings that reached up to stop at her mid-thigh. For shoes, the spiders even managed to create her a pair of black combat boots that were surprisingly comfortable. Muffet hummed as she took the time to brush Tara’s hair and pull it back with a dark red ribbon.

“These clothes are made with magic, they will regulate your temperature so you won’t have to worry about overheating in the Core. They will also grow with you, so you won’t have to worry about outgrowing them ever,” Muffet explained. When Tara gave her a shocked look, Muffet simply gave a knowing smile. “My spiders see all and tell me all. I’ve never seen someone age as quickly as you have in the Underground. Something tells me that by the time you exit the barrier, your body will reflect your true age.”

“You’ve been too kind,” Tara said, giving Muffet a tight hug.

“Just promise me you won’t forget about us monsters when you do get out.”

“So long as you promise to come and show my people some of this fashion design when you do gain your freedom,” Tara replied, swallowing past the lump in her throat. “This is gorgeous.”

“Yes, well. I know it’s not as much skin as your people are used to showing.” Muffet winked with three of her eyes. “But we would be more than happy to visit your home once we are able. Just make sure to handle that pesky little God of War first.” Tara laughed, a tear slipping free as she nodded.

“That will be my first priority.” Muffet swiped away the tear and nodded towards the exit.

“Alright, off with you now precious. Remember your skills and no matter what any monster tries to do to get under your skin, do not forget your mission and your goal.” Tara nodded and accepted the side pouch the spiders offered her to carry Flowey in, tying it around her waist. The pouch already had the rune for protection drawn on the side, so all Tara would have to do was push her magic into it and Flowey would be perfectly protected from any and all harm.

~ ~ ~

As Muffet watched the woman leave her domain, she pulled three of her hands to her chest and breathed out a slow breath. “Stay safe young Tara. You are our last hope.”

~ ~ ~

Tyler sighed as Alphys strapped him to the metal table.

“Are the straps needed?” Undyne asked, frowning. Alphys shoved her cracked glasses up and straightened her lab coat, sending Tyler a dirty look. He grinned in response.

“I don’t know how his kind reacts to pain and I’d rather not have his fist introduced to my face again,” the orange monster grumbled. Her tail swished as she pulled a couple of medical supplies from the nearby drawer and laid them out on a tray. Napstablook paced in the corner, clearly aching to return to Tara’s side as quickly as possible.

“Hey, you were the one who attacked first,” Tyler reminded her. “I simply defended myself until you gave up the fight and surrendered.”

“And then you transformed into a being of nightmares right after,” Alphys muttered. She glanced at him and shuddered. “Is there no way to turn that…” She waved her hand around. “Glamour thing back on?”

“I just see a human,” Undyne commented.

“Same,” Napstablook affirmed.

“I have no idea how it works,” Tyler admitted. “From what Undyne and Napstablook have said, they only caught a small glance of my sister without her glamour. I don’t know why once monsters see me without my glamour, they continue to see me in my true form.” Alphys considered this as she prepared the area for the removal of Tyler’s brand.

“I have a couple of theories in mind. But let’s focus on this first. Is there anything I should know before I start slicing?”

“The effect of my blood will increase significantly once you catch sight of my blood,” Tyler told her. “That feeling of fear and terror you sense now will increase ten-fold.” Alphys groaned.

“How I would love to figure out exactly why your blood sends out these fear signals and why exactly it affects us monsters so severely.” Tyler shook his head.

“People on the surface don’t have such a profound reaction to it. I would assume it has to do with the fact that humans have become used to it. Maybe their minds have built up a resilience whereas since you monsters have never encountered one of my kind before, you experience the call of the blood to a more extreme degree. You have no tolerance built up.”

“That would make sense. It would also explain why Undyne and Napstablook are so obsessed with keeping your sister safe if her blood gives out the opposite call yours gives as you said.”

“I don’t wanna protect her ‘cause of her blood,” Napstablook muttered. “I wanna do it because she’s perfect. It’s not her blood telling me that.” Undyne, Alphys, and Tyler all rolled their eyes at that.

Alphys lifted a knife. “Ready?” Tyler nodded. And she began to cut.

“Holy shit!” Undyne exclaimed, leaping backward once his blood started flowing. “Tyler! You are badass looking!”

“Everything in me wants to run for the hills,” Napstablook said in shock, clearly fighting to remain where he was and not bolt. Alphys winced and took a step back, pressing her hand over her heart.

“And this reaction is why people on the Surface don’t fight my kind with piercing or slashing weaponry. Anything that would make us bleed easily is a no go. They use blunt weapons against us if a fight were to break out.”

“You got this Alphys. It’s just his blood call. He’s strapped down. He can’t leap out of the bindings and strangle you. It’s all in your head,” Alphys muttered to herself. Tyler didn’t bother to mention that he could easily break free of these flimsy straps.

“Do you mind hurrying up?” he asked as the brand began to throb more painfully. “This thing is not happy with our experiment.” Alphys nodded and inched her way back over.

“Right, right. Cutting brand off.” She took a breath to stop her hands from shaking and returned to her work.

Tyler’s fists clenched and he grit his teeth as Alphys returned to her work. She carefully cut around the entirety of the brand before slicing down under the skin and peeling it away from his body. The second she pulled the last bit of the brand away, it was like a tether had been snapped. Tyler gasped in relief. His arm still hurt like a bitch, but he no longer felt the throbbing demand of the brand. Alphys quickly pressed her hands over his arm, a green glow emitting from her claws.

“Moment of truth,” she commented as she began to push her healing magic into his arm. Undyne sighed.

“I miss my magic,” she said as she watched Alphys heal Tyler.

“Why would you ever give up magic?” Tyler asked as Alphys healed.

“Royal Guards give up magic to focus on physical attacks. If we give up things like our healing magic and the likes, it transfers back into us to help raise our strength, dexterity, speed, and reflexes. Makes us better physical fighters. So Royal Guards give it all up in order for all of that to assist in our physical prowess.”

“Then I’m glad my sister convinced you not to fight before you had even lifted your spear.”

“Done!” Alphys exclaimed, stepping back with a proud look. Tyler looked down at his perfectly healed arm, completely smooth and brand free. She unstrapped him and he rotated his arm around, giving a grin.

“This is perfect. Thank you so much Alphys. Now, all we need to do is get Tara back here so you can do the same.” Alphys nodded and nudged her glasses back up her face again.

“Mind if I keep the skin to study?”

“Knock yourself out.” She gave an excited clap before rushing over to one of her computers and tapping on it.

“Okay, so it looks like she’s already through the Core. With my codes, you can completely bypass the Core. If you continue without any further breaks, I’d say you can get to her in maybe three hours' time? Then three hours to get back here. I’ll prep the area for a proper surgery this time.” She gave Tyler a once over. He flashed her a toothy grin that caused her to shudder. “If she really is the exact opposite of you, I understand why Papyrus had his sudden change of heart. I’ll have proper numbing medication ready for her. Don’t want to cause her pain.”

“We really appreciate this Alphys,” Undyne told the smaller monster, giving her a smile. Alphys blushed a bright red and cleared her throat before handing Tyler her id card.

“W-well, off with y-you. I’ll s-see you in about s-six hours,” she stuttered out. Tyler nodded and took the card, pocketing it.

“Let’s go.”

~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a flashback heavy chapter, I know. I wanted to kind of show why Sans stalking Tara freaks her out so much. She's been plain in showing off her bravado to just about every other monster, not letting much phase her. Then we have Sans, and he seems to be the one monster that haunts her and freaks her out beyond anyone else. Felt a little out of left field, ya know? So I wanted to explain why without just having another info dump with Flowey.  
> I don't have any plans on having any other scenes like the one that needed the trigger warning for this episode, which was why I didn't put the disclaimer across the entire fic. This *should* be the only time anything like that is shown in an actual scene. And I definitely didn't want to glorify it. But I wanted to make sure there was some form of warning, so if you're sensitive to that you have the option to skip that scene entirely.
> 
> My favorite scene here was probably the scene with Muffet. I gave my Muffet a more gentle and tender attitude. As Muffet says, her spiders see all and tell her all. So Muffet knows literally everything. As Tyler told the entire story to Undyne and Napstablook back in Waterfall, Muffet has all the details from start to finish. I felt a bonding scene was better than the usual "Grr fight me oh shit you're so pure I must protect." :) I did want to introduce Mettaton, but he's not the main "boss" of Hotland, his fight comes in the Core.
> 
> As for Tyler, I wanted to use that scene to kind of explain the rules of how their glamour works and why the monsters have such a strong reaction to the twins. Obviously, not everything is clear because the characters don't know for certain why it's happening and they're just making theories.  
> *Sidebar, as I wrote this chapter, I was listening to the Sans version of Stronger than You on repeat, and every time the line "Well you didn't spare my brother so get dunked on" played, I just imagined Tyler in that tavern as the guards beg for mercy, it's Tyler saying "Well you didn't spare my sister so get dunked on." And it made me smirk. That has nothing to do with the chapter, but it was a fun tidbit I thought I'd share.*


	5. The Core

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tara struggles to get past the puzzles of the Core while giving Flowey some insight into what the world is like on the Surface.
> 
> Tyler and Undyne rush to catch up to Tara before she leaves the safety of the Underground.

“I don’t think I’ve been more happy than to have been given magic-enhanced clothing,” Tara commented as she walked across the metal walkways above the Core. The moment the door to the Core opened, Tara could immediately feel the leap in the heat before her new clothing sent waves of cooling throughout her body. She glanced down at her outfit and gave a slight laugh. “Even if I look almost completely human with these clothes.” At Flowey’s confused face, she hurried to explain. “My people don’t dress like this. Our fashion choices are a bit more… Fantastical, I guess you could say.”

“What do you usually wear?” Flowey asked.

“Well, usually I wear my white robes. There’s a piece of cloth that covers my chest. Strips of white that act as sleeves. And a skirt that also flows down in strips. My cloak is white and trimmed in gold and I’m usually barefoot, with only my golden anklets and armlets posing as jewelry.”

“Is there a pragmatic reason behind it?”

“Of course. Like I said before, my people enjoy showing skin. It is a sign of bravery to show off flaws and we are praised for doing so by each other. And as I am a magic-user, I need the freedom of movement. I’m not all too concerned about the protection because usually, my brother is beside me to take physical hits. And if he is not there, I can just as easily cast a protection shield.” She tapped on the rune on Flowey’s pouch. “Like the one I give you to keep you safe whenever we encounter trouble.”

“But what if you are cut off from your magic, like what happened with Mettaton?” Tara internally winced at the question, forcing images from her mind as she made herself answer.

“My people are extremely fast and agile. I usually have no issues defending myself, with or without my magic. It’s never fool-proof… But I’ve gotten myself out of some tight jams just off physical prowess alone!” She forced cheer into her voice and made her lips smile. “It is never a coward’s decision to run when you are out-matched, it is instead a wise move. Only a fool would rush into a battle they are ill-suited for.”

“Then do you have a plan for Mettaton?” Flowey asked hopefully.

“Don’t let him touch me?”

“That doesn’t sound like a real plan.”

“Ask him nicely not to touch me?”

“You don’t have a plan, do you?”

“Listen, I’ve kind of just been playing all of this by ear. Planning was never my strong suit. That was always Tyler’s thing. He’s the one that plans five steps ahead and has back-up plans for his back-up plans. I’ve always been better at thinking on the fly. I mean, take into consideration my last brilliant plan.”

“We did make it through Snowdin,” Flowey pointed out.

“Barely. And I had to leave Tyler behind.” She rubbed her arms as she cast a glance behind her. “I hope he catches up soon. Napstablook said he was going to be escorting him through the shortest path through Waterfall and Hotland. Shouldn’t they have caught up by now?”

“Maybe they had to take a break somewhere? Load up on water?”

“Maybe…” _Or maybe he’s hurt or lost or Napstablook never found him or Sans hurt him or any number of things that could’ve happened._

“Let’s just keep our thoughts on the problem ahead. I’m certain he’ll catch up before we know it!” Flowey gave her a bright smile and she released a breath, giving him a firm nod.

Then they reached the elevator. Tara frowned at it. There were three buttons and a space where she could swipe a card. Only one of the buttons showed as green, the other two were red.

“So I can choose ‘next level,’ ‘middle level,’ or ‘end level,’” Tara read out from the plaques above each button. Flowey peered at the buttons and shook his head.

“We don’t have the key card required to completely skip through the Core. So our only option is to go through to the next level.”

“How many levels are in the Core?”

“Not a clue!”

“…Fantastic.” She hit the button for the next level, waiting as the elevator rumbled to life. When the doors slid open, she stepped inside and allowed the doors to slide shut, blinking at all the buttons on the inside of the elevator. Sixty-six… “Please tell me we do not have to go through sixty-six floors of this place.”

“Of course not! That would be ridiculous,” Flowey exclaimed, giving her a queer look. “The Core elevator can move horizontally as well as vertically. But since we don’t have clearance for any specific floor, we can only go the default route for each individual elevator. These buttons in here are meant for those with the clearance to go to the other floors. Do elevators on the Surface not work the same?”

“Uh, no. They just go up and down.”

“Sounds impractical.”

“Hey, I don’t usually use elevators. Not many on the Surface are quite as technologically advanced like this anymore. Most of this kind of machinery faded away after the Purge.”

“The Purge?” The elevator doors slid open.

“Yeah. I’ll tell you about it later.”

Tara stepped out of the elevator and gave a sigh at the sight before her. She rubbed the side of her head as she eyed the laser beams and conveyor belt system that set up this floor.

“Okay, tell me there’s a trick to this,” she asked Flowey. The flower shrugged, frowning at the complicated trap.

“It wasn’t like this any time I’ve passed through here before. Probably something that came up after that last human man fell down here.”

“Alright, so we play this by ear. I can trial and error this shit. No big deal.”

There were two different colors of lasers, blue and orange. There was no way around them, she’d have to figure out the trick of bypassing them in the moment. And there definitely had to be a trick to them, or else the average monster simply passing through here wouldn’t be able to proceed. So, with a deep breath, Tara pushed her magic into the rune on Flowey’s pouch before stepping onto the conveyor belt.

When she got to the first laser beam barrier, which was orange, she began to move backward on the belt to stay in place. She gently reached out with her hand, giving a frown when nothing happened. No zap, no pain, nothing. She waved her hand through it multiple times before she decided to try something. She held her hand still for just a second in those beams.

She only held her hand there for only a second because the moment she stopped moving her hand, she received a firm shock. With a hiss, she yanked her hand away and clutched it against her chest.

“Movement,” she mumbled to herself. “It zaps things that are immobile and allows things that aren’t to pass through harmlessly.” With that knowledge in mind, she jogged backward on the conveyor belt before turning and walking forward through the beams. She stopped herself just in time for the first blue laser.

“Maybe it’s the same trick?” Flowey proposed as he eyed it.

“Doubtful. But maybe if the other one detects movement, this one works the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“So the last one allows things that are moving to pass through with no issue. I’m going to guess this one works the opposite way. Consider the placement.” She gestured behind her. “I almost didn’t stop moving in time before reaching this one. My guess would be that the original idea is to trip up the person passing through. They keep walking through before being zapped by the second laser.”

“Maybe hold your hand out as a test first?”

“Agreed.”

With a deep breath, Tara jogged back another few steps before reaching out her hand and holding completely still. She allowed the belt to carry her through the beams, no issues, and no further zapping. She released a breath and shook her head.

“This system was designed by a sadist,” she grumbled.

For the remainder of the walkway to the next elevator, Tara was constantly going through being moving and holding still to satisfy each barrier she came across. By the time she got to the elevator, she felt as though she’d been working out for an hour straight. But she _had_ made it to the second elevator.

“Next floor,” she announced, pressing the appropriate button for the elevator. The doors shut and the elevator began to move.

“So what’s the Purge?” Flowey asked.

“The Purge is something that happened not long after my people settled on the Surface world. I only know the history of it. My people were one of the first who settled there, and that was nearly five thousand years ago,” Tara explained, trying to make it as understandable for Flowey as possible. “From the way history tells it, humans began getting paranoid with the increasing number of different races settling on the Surface world. Advanced technology was blamed, many people stating that because technology had become so advanced, it was sending out a signal to other races that it was a hospitable place to live.”

“What happened?”

“Well, a group of humans took it upon themselves to take on a war of technology. They spread their paranoia among the general populace and their numbers grew. Or so how history tells it.”

“Is history wrong then?” Tara shrugged at that.

“History is told by the victor. That group of humans were the victors of that initial conflict and managed to destroy centuries worth of research and technology. Then they set their sights on driving off all other races and anyone who sided with them. It was a time where people like me and my brother were essential. That group of humans failed in driving off the other races and were defeated. So history is told by the victors of _that_ conflict. Who knows? Maybe they were right and technology did send out a signal to races like my people that the land was inhabitable.”

“What do you think?”

Tara thought over the question for a bit as the elevator hummed along. Finally, she replied, “I think that regardless if they were right or wrong, peace should always be the first step. If my people came to the Surface instead of staying where they were, then clearly there was something very wrong with our original home. War should never be the first answer to something different. But simply labeling a group of people as ‘paranoid’ does a disservice to those people in the first place. They clearly felt they had enough evidence to back up their beliefs or they never would’ve started a war over it. Either way, it ended up being called the Purge by history. Short for the purge of technology.”

The elevator doors opened and she stepped through once more. Then groaned at the sight that lay before her.

It was a similar set-up to the previous floor with the laser beams of orange and blue, as well as the conveyor belt, but this time the lights changed colors. And they moved.

“This is ridiculous,” Tara said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Welcome to the Underground, are you new around here?” Flowey asked sweetly, earning a chuckle from Tara.

“Alright, I’ll give you that one. Let’s get this ball rolling. It’s just a more complex timing puzzle. I can handle this! I can handle this.”

Tara chewed on her lip as she approached the first laser, walking with the conveyor belt. Just as she reached the laser, it swapped over to blue and she barely froze in time for it to pass over her. Then she started walking again, staring at that blue laser-like she dared it to change colors. It swapped over to orange, then flickered immediately back to blue once she got in range, causing her to freeze again. But not before she got a small zap against her arm.

“Shouldn’t you have more of a plan for these things?” Flowey asked from his pouch.

“Plans are more of Tyler’s thing,” Tara reminded Flowey.

“Okay, well how about this for observation. They seem to change colors randomly, however, they also seem to be triggered to change colors when someone or something approaches.” As if to prove his point, the blue laser in front of her that had recently swapped from orange swapped back to blue as she got close. “So do you have anything in that magical brain of yours that can take advantage of this?”

“Besides panic?” With a sigh, Tara began her backward walk to remain just between two of the moving lasers and ran through a list of runes in her head. There weren’t many spells her people used to create something physical. Nothing that would help her out here… She squinted at the lasers. “I have a better idea.”

Her eyes followed the lasers to their source and she considered it. Small devices against a far wall. Her hands rose as she made the appropriate runes. She let her anger rise. Then she shoved forward with her magic, letting her anger fuel her power. Fire raged out of the rune in an arc and she directed it to each device, overheating each one and causing them to sputter before ultimately dying. Once the last one shut off, she released the magic and dropped to her knees as exhaustion hit her all at once.

“Are you okay?!” Flowey demanded. She gave a shrug.

“Big magic costs more to perform. But I’ll be okay.” She struggled back up to her feet and began to stumble forward, grabbing her water flask and taking a drink. She hissed slightly as her magic thumped for something _more_ to refuel itself. So out came the spider donuts Muffet had provided. As she refilled her energy in the form of water and donuts, she noticed how silent Flowey had gotten.

“What’s wrong?” she asked between bites.

“Monsters are beings made of magic,” Flowey began carefully. Tara nodded. “I have never seen a monster use magic of that degree before with that much precision.” He looked up at her. “If you wanted, you could lay waste upon the entire Underground. Couldn’t you?” She glanced away and chewed on her lip.

“If I wasn’t glamoured like this and had access to all of my magic unchecked?” She shook her head. “There is a reason I was sent down here with rules in place. However, all my magic means nothing if one knows how to contain it. Remember, I have to create runes in order to create any form of magic. Runes that I can create in my head are virtually useless in a fight. If I become immobilized, there isn’t much for me to do.”

“How would you have proceeded through the Underground if you didn’t have those rules in place? If you weren’t glamoured?”

“If I wasn’t glamoured, the rules wouldn’t have mattered in the first place. I would have walked through without a care in the world.”

“Come again?” Flowey sounded confused. She gave a grin.

“I would have walked through, unchallenged, and probably even assisted. My blood has a call. And it’s a call to all beings that they shouldn’t even think of harming me. My brother’s blood has a call as well, though it’s more of a call for all beings to fear him. All I would’ve really needed to do is inform any creature stuck in my blood call that by not assisting me, they caused me harm. They would trip over themselves to assist me.”

“That’s… Terrifying,” Flowey admitted.

“Many on the Surface who have been my enemy have hesitated before striking at me. And any who attack my kind do so with magic or blunt weapons. It is very rare for someone to attack with a sword for instance. One slash on an arm that causes us to bleed causes the blood call to strengthen. I’ve seen my brother’s foes run mid-fight because they accidentally caused him to bleed.”

“Does that not work down here? The blood call thing?”

“Apparently not. I mean, Sans caused me to bleed and he didn’t seem to care. It could be the glamour, or maybe monsters are immune to the blood call.”

“So if your blood call thing doesn’t work on monsters, how would you have approached the Underground without the rules?” Tara pushed the button for the elevator as she considered the question.

“Honestly? Mostly the same. I would’ve tossed Sans against a tree a few couple times, but I don’t _like_ hurting people who are clearly struggling. It’s like if a homeless person attempts to mug someone for money because they’re starving. Yes, you’re justified in hitting back to defend yourself, but beyond that? I’d much rather solve the issue on the spot so they don’t feel the need to mug the next person who comes along.” She shook her head. “I’m not some perfect angel, Flowey. I’m just another being in the world who hopes for a better one. And no one deserves to be trapped underground against their will for centuries. No matter what they’ve done, and especially if they’ve done nothing to cause that isolation. The stars are a beautiful sight that all should be allowed to enjoy.”

The elevator doors opened to a heart-breaking sight. More lasers, a _lot_ more lasers. Not only were there triple the number of lasers that moved and swapped between the colors but standing at the other end was the familiar figure of Mettaton. He stood proudly with his fists on his hips, seemingly posed like a superhero from comics. Tara felt her heart go out to this being, forced into something against his own will. Forced to stand against her simply because another being with full control over him stated he had to.

“I hope you have a plan,” Mettaton called out from the other side of the room to her. He gestured to the lasers, then to himself. “My creator didn’t want to take any risks when it came to your capture.”

“I have the makings of a plan,” Tara replied from her relative safety. “Are you able to speak freely all the time? If you truly wish for my assistance to help free you, it would be relatively helpful for a bit of advice.”

Mettaton grinned at that, giving a slight nod. “Yes, my creator never found a reason to restrict my voice. Pretty clever. However, even if I can guide you through the lasers, I cannot stop my body from attacking you once you clear them.” The spider donuts were doing their job exactly as Muffet had explained to Tara and were swiftly refueling her magical energy, something that would usually require a full night’s worth of sleep. It didn’t refill her physical energy like sleep, but she just needed enough time to get close to Mettaton.

“Are you allowed to leave the Core to chase me into the next sector?” she asked.

“No. My creator’s reach ends at the Core exit. This lies behind me. After the Core is New Home and at the end of New Home is the barrier. New Home is Asgore’s domain and my creator would not risk Asgore’s wrath by attempting to hunt in his domain.”

“Flowey?” she asked softly to the flower at her side. “Is he being truthful?”

“Yes. But how are you going to get by him?” Flowey replied, fear alight in his eyes. She activated his protection and took a deep breath.

“One very specific spell. Let’s hope I don’t screw it up. I’ve only cast it twice before in my life.” She lifted her voice for Mettaton. “Alright, how do I begin to proceed through these lasers?”

“The first three will always turn orange when something approaches at high speeds. The next two will immediately change to blue after that. This means you need to run through the first three before stopping for the following two. After that, it starts getting tricky.”

“In what way?”

“Well, number six will change to white at the bottom while the top will be orange. So you need to jump over the white lasers. Number seven does the same in reverse, so roll under that. Eight will be white on the left and blue on the right while nine is white on the right and orange on the left. It looks randomized, but it’s not. Ten is the trickiest because the top is blue, the bottom is white, but there’s a section in the middle that is orange. After ten, everything repeats.”

“Run, freeze, jump, roll, right, left, dive. Got it.”

“Are you sure you can handle this Tara?” Flowey asked.

“Nope. Let’s go.”

Without giving herself a chance to overthink it, Tara began to race forward. She passed through the first three harmlessly before freezing for the next two. Then she was moving again, leaping neatly over the sixth laser before neatly ducking into a roll through the seventh. After she popped up, she turned her body to the right before spinning to the left. As she spun, her fingers traced the appropriate rune and she dumped her magic into it, sending fire to short-circuit the tenth laser. Then it was just as simple as redirecting the flame to hit every tenth laser whenever she got close to it.

Even when she had to stop moving for the blue lasers, she never truly felt like she stopped moving. She was reminded of a night back when she was a teen, dancing through her trials to complete her training as a white mage. The music of that night swum through her head, the flush of heat as she moved her body, the cheers of her peers as she made her way through the final assessment with that blindfold covering her eyes.

Everything moved like clockwork, even when she made minor mistakes and suffered the punishment of the lasers burning her, she didn’t hesitate. This was designed to be impossible for humans to proceed through, that much was clear. The reflexes needed were something the human body simply was not capable of achieving. Even with every tenth laser out of commission, it was taxing. But still, Tara did not pause, nor did she falter. With the knowledge that the ending was so close, she kept that on her mind. The knowledge that Flowey and Mettaton were counting on her success kept her moving, even as her shoulder continued to throb painfully at the risk she was exposing it to. Her pain did not matter. Their freedom did.

Her hand was moving as she finally cleared the final laser, sweat dripping down into her eyes. Mettaton came at her quickly. She shoved her magic into the rune, hoping beyond hope that she didn’t screw anything up or miscalculate anything.

Mettaton’s eyes widened as her magic enveloped him and she spun to the side to dodge his momentum. She didn’t wait to see if her spell was successful, she bolted for the exit to the Core. A simple glance behind her told her all she needed to know.

~ ~ ~

Mettaton felt control of his arms return to him. The woman raced for the exit. He didn’t know her name, and he regretted not asking for it. She was a beautiful sight to behold, even before her glamour faded for him. Watching her move seemingly effortlessly around the lasers was a sight to see. He didn’t know what race she was, but if all of her race were as graceful as she then he wanted to meet them. He wanted to learn from them. He wanted to learn from her.

“Please don’t forget about me,” he whispered softly to her fleeing form, his freewill leaving him once more as she left his sight and his body began its usual route of patrol through the Core. “Don’t forget me…”

~ ~ ~

Tyler, Napstablook, and Undyne reached the first elevator in the Core with Napstablook fidgeting impatiently. Tyler swiped the card that Alphys had given him against the reader, the doors opening and allowing them access.

“How’s the arm?” Undyne asked Tyler. He flexed his arm, glancing down at the dark gray skin.

“Good as new. Feels nice not to have that stifling glamour pressing down on me as well.” Undyne looked him up and down as Napstablook paced in the elevator. She pressed the appropriate button to immediately take them to the final floor of the Core and the doors slid shut.

“I was wondering about that,” she admitted. “Why did the glamour completely fade? I only saw it fade from your sister for a second.”

“We’re taking too long…” Napstablook mumbled. “She could be in trouble. We need to hurry…” Both Tyler and Undyne ignored the ghost.

“Honestly?” Tyler asked. “I have no idea. It’s completely gone though. And I don’t sense any residual magic left behind by it. The only thing I can guess is that the glamour was connected to the brand somehow and when the brand was removed, the glamour was finally removed as well.”

“What is causing your sister’s glamour to fade though? When I faced her down, I didn’t even get a chance to attack.” Tyler shook his head at that.

“Don’t know. I can only conclude that her glamour isn’t going down as much as you’re given a second to see through the magic. Which is only possible if there was a special caveat for the glamour written into the spell when it was cast over her.”

“Mercy, obviously,” Napstablook stated as if the two were morons. They blinked at him. “When I saw her, it was after she refused to fight me. She told me that if she wanted, she could wipe me from existence. She acted as though she was willing and able to prove her words _if_ I made a move against her. I wasn’t willing to risk it and I admired how bold she was. So I allowed her to pass. That’s when I saw the real her. She spared me and I accepted the mercy she showed. Then I saw the real her. From what I saw from the Undyne encounter, something similar happened.”

“True,” Undyne agreed, appearing to think back on the encounter. “From the first words out of her mouth, she was complimenting me. It threw me off guard. Then she asked so sweetly if we could perhaps fight another time as she was in a rush. It’d been so long since… Someone spoke to me that way.” Undyne’s fingers brushed against her eye patch. “The moment I decided to take her up on her offer, at least give the kind human a chance at life, I saw her.” Tyler covered his grin with his hand, giving Undyne a glance over.

“Yeah, I suppose you are my sister’s type,” he agreed. Undyne blushed and scowled at him.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not. My sister has an adoration for beings that many would perceive as ‘different.’ And the ears? Yeah, I’m surprised she didn’t propose then and there. She likes pointed ears.” Undyne poked Tyler’s own sharply pointed ears.

“Is it a race thing?”

“It’s a my sister thing. Some people like long legs, some people like beards. My sister likes pointed ears. She’s very proud of her own. Calls ‘em her best feature.”

“She must’ve been crushed when she discovered they were rounded with the glamour,” Napstablook muttered.

“Knowing my sister? She was probably more broken-up about her ears than she was about having her magic limited.” The elevator doors opened and Tyler stepped forward, then stumbled back into Undyne.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded, helping him back upright. His eyes widened as he stared at the scorch marks against the far wall. Tara’s magic sat heavily in the air, and not the basic magic she had been using up until this point. This was her powerful attack magic. But he wasn’t currently possessed by a Shade, his body and mind were still his own. So she didn’t break her rules by harming another creature. Fear sank deep into his gut.

“We need to hurry. She used large amounts of magic in this room. She shouldn’t have access to this level of magic with the glamour firmly in place. That worries me. We need to catch her before she leaves the Underground.”

“I’ll scout ahead,” Napstablook stated, fading from view.

“Come on Tyler,” Undyne encouraged, jogging across the still conveyor belts towards the other side. “We need to get that brand off her shoulder.”

~ ~ ~

Sans stood in the large room, a soft glow streaming in from the windows. He stood waiting with his hands in his pockets, that sleeve still wrapped around his neck like a scarf. There was no escaping him this time.

He glanced up as her feet made their way into the room, his grin widening at her outfit change. She paused in front of him, her face and body steeling itself for a fight. Smoke poured from Sans’ eye as he breathed in her magic. Fear almost radiated off her. It was intoxicating.

“Hey doll,” he welcomed, calling to his blasters. “Care to dance?”

~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun write :D I took a bit of time off for the holiday season, and also to figure out how I wanted to proceed through Tara's Core adventure. I knew I wanted to place an emphasis on the puzzles, specifically the laser puzzle. I also wanted a chance to show off some of Tara's stronger stuff. Up until this point, she's been dangerously close to "damsel-in-distress" levels of protagonist, so I wanted to show off truly why her rules are why they are. She is a wicked powerful caster in her own right, though it is balanced. But at the end here seemed the best place to show it off as, if you can probably guess, the next Chapter is going to be her face-off with Sans. No escape this time >:)
> 
> As for Tyler, his section was really short because there frankly wasn't much there. He was skipping the Core to play catch-up after all. So instead of simply not including a Tyler section, I gave him a chance to theorize with Napstablook and Undyne about why the glamour seemed to fade at random times and why his glamour seems to be gone completely.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed reading! I enjoyed writing! Happy Yule and happy holidays to all, whatever you celebrate this season~


	6. New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tara finally faces off against Sans with the barrier just within her grasp.
> 
> Tyler rushes to reach his sister before she passes through the barrier.

Tara stretched as she woke from her brief nap in front of the house that looked oddly similar to Toriel’s home from the Ruins. She didn’t feel quite as refreshed as she had hoped, but she knew she needed to push on. She wasn’t certain about the state of her world, but she couldn’t delay. A glance behind her had her heart aching. _Where are you Tyler?_ He should’ve caught up by now.

“We can wait if you want,” Flowey suggested softly, leaning his head against her hip. She shook her head, as much as it pained her to do so.

“I want to wait for him,” she said, pain dripping from her voice. “But I can’t think of myself. He’s… He’s safer down here in the long run. And I trust Napstablook to keep him safe. So the longer he’s down here, the longer he goes without being Malik’s pawn.”

“And the sooner you get free, the sooner you become that guy’s pawn again,” he argued.

“And the longer I’m stuck down here, the more my people suffer. At least out there, I can do something. I got free once, I can do it again.” With that, Tara stood and made her way inside the house.

She stepped over the chain that was slung in front of the staircase leading down. Her fingers trailed against the wall as she made her descent, magic causing her fingertips to tingle. If she could feel the magic, that meant it was extremely powerful.

“The barrier’s close,” Flowey whispered. He sounded scared. _The strong monster who killed him._ She wondered if she would encounter that strong monster, or if he was the one who escaped the barrier. It wouldn’t matter. She wouldn’t allow anyone to lay so much as a finger on Flowey.

She walked through the abandoned halls, not a single monster to be seen. It felt desolate and empty. Lifeless. No one had lived in these halls for some time.

When she reached the large double doors, Flowey cringed slightly. She pushed her fear down and shoved the doors open, walking through into a large hall. What seemed like artificial sunlight streamed in through the windows, giving the room a warm glow. She wasn’t even surprised at who waited for her in the middle of the hall.

Sans stood with a cocky grin, his left eye glowing, that golden tooth gleaming.

“Hey doll,” he called out. “Care to dance?” She held a stoic expression on her face, not allowing him to see her fear. Slowly, she stepped forward.

“I would prefer not to,” she said flatly. “Isn’t it a bit of a risk for you to hunt in this domain?” He chuckled.

“Maybe, but you’re worth it. This battle is worth it.”

“I think we’ve already established that I’m not going to fight you.”

“Yeah, you did prove that a time or two. Despite how powerful, you won’t fight back. I wonder if that’ll change when you figure out that your darling brother isn’t going to be showing up anytime soon.” Her lips parted slightly, heart stuttering in her chest. “That had an effect.”

“N-no, you’re lying!” she shouted, her chest tightening.

“He’s a great fighter,” Sans admitted, scratching the side of his skull. “Good thing I don’t need to get close to take him out.” He thumbed the shirtsleeve wrapped around his neck. “Token of victory.”

Tara stared at that shirtsleeve. It was the same one she’d left in Waterfall for Tyler. She squeezed her eyes shut as she digested the information. A hand clutched against her chest as if that would lessen the blow. She could only see her brother’s smile in her mind’s eye. She could feel his arms holding her close when she was weak. Her fear of Sans drained away as anger overtook her.

“Tara?” Flowey questioned gently. She shoved her magic into the rune of protection for Flowey before opening her eyes and staring down Sans.

“You want a fight?” she asked, her voice dark. She removed Flowey’s pouch from her waist and set him aside. Then she walked forward. Sans chuckled. “I’ll give you a fucking fight. It’s not too late for you to get on your knees and pray for forgiveness.” _You can’t break the rules,_ she reminded herself. _If Tyler is… Gone… The Shade may decide to take over your body if you break them. Then who will face Malik?_ But she could give Sans a taste.

“This is gonna be fun.” His blasters shot out pure magic at her and she swiftly moved to the side. A swift rune with her hands and a shove of her magic. His blasters cracked and exploded as she directed. Sans blinked at that, giving her a look of awe as she stalked forward.

His hand yanked upwards and she jumped to the side to avoid the bones that jerked up from the floor to tear into her. She swept her hand to the side, lashing out with her magic. The bones broke in half before dissolving.

“You think you can truly take me in a fight Sans?” she demanded as she continued to stride forward.

“You’re not even attacking me,” he countered, tossing some more bones at her. She pressed forward with her magic to dissolve them before they even touched her.

“Do I need to?” _I need a plan._

“I just need to wear you down enough if you’re not even going to try.”

“You act like this is going to last long enough for you to get that chance.” _What would Tyler do?_

“Hell, your magic is intoxicating. Believe me, I’ll last as long as I need to in order to keep tasting it.” A blast from behind her sent her on her knees, but not enough to do any real damage. She snarled at him

“I didn’t survive this long to be your dinner. Filthy brother killer,” she snapped. She pressed her magic into the floor, spikes rising up to pierce his blaster. _I need to trap him, get him immobile._ Then her eyes drifted over to Flowey. He looked… Terrified. For her? Of her?

And like cold water pouring over her head, her anger left in an instant. Another blast from her right sent her sprawling as she clenched her jaw.

“This isn’t who I am,” she whispered to herself. “It’s not what you would want.” Tyler’s face appeared in her mind’s eye. She slowly picked herself back up. “I won’t play the part of the fool.”

Sans frowned at her and clenched his fist, freezing her. He tossed her down again, and she took it. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she recalled her brother when they were children.

“ _I have to stay by her always,” Tyler told the other child. The other child frowned and glanced at me._

“ _Why?”_

“ _We are each other’s half. She is the light and I am the dark,” Tyler replied proudly, perfectly quoting Mother and Father. His dark gray hand tightly gripped my softly glowing light skin._

“ _Can she not protect herself?”_

“ _I can,” I told the child. “But that’s not my role. I’m not meant to harm, I’m supposed to bring peace.”_

“ _But we already have peace. Doesn’t that make you useless?” Tyler punched the kid._

Always protecting her. Even from random kids who didn’t understand that words hurt.

“ _We came into this world together,” Tyler informed the boy._

“ _We leave this world together,” I finished. The boy blinked._

“ _Weird. But cool. I’m Liam. I like weird and cool things.”_

Their closest friends were the ones who could only accept that they were a package deal.

“We were supposed to leave this world together,” Tara whispered, she clenched her fists together. “You were not meant to leave me alone.”

Another toss of Sans’ hand and she collided with a pillar, bringing her back to the fight.

“Why?” she asked. Sans frowned at her. She picked herself back up, knuckling away her tears. “Why did you kill him? Why not give him a chance?” He hesitated slightly and she shook her head.

“Where’d all that fire go, doll?” he demanded, tossing more bones at her. She neatly dodged them, letting the peace of her being rise.

“I can beat you without fighting you,” she promised, steeling herself. “So go ahead and hit me if you can.” _I’ll give up the anger for you Tyler. I’ll make you proud._

Sans scowled at that, moving his hand to blast more magic at her. She didn’t stop moving, her feet drifting against the floor as she moved. It was hard, but it was all she had. One mistake and it’d all be over. There was no room for mistakes.

She circled Sans, using small and easy spells to redirect his attacks away from her while continuing to move her feet against the floor. One strike against him and she’d win. This fight would be over. She thought of Flowey, of Mettaton, of Tyler, of her people. The consequences would last forever if she took that route. She wasn’t willing to risk it all.

In the end, it only took a simple push. Sans stumbled backward into the rune just as she poured all the magic she had left into the rune. Silver tendrils lashed onto Sans’ arms, holding him steady. They brought him down to his knees, and as they did so…

Tara slowly walked over to Sans, feeling the glamour fade away and all of her magic return to her. Peace enveloped her very soul. Sans’ eyes widened as he stared at her, mouth agape. Something seemed to flicker and change in him as he gazed upon her. She took a single knee in front of him and rested her hand over his left eye.

“ _Wouldn’t it be so simple to gain revenge for killing your brother?”_ something whispered in her ear. _“He deserves nothing less than pain for taking away your brother.”_ The proper rune appeared in Tara’s head. Sans did deserve to be punished for taking away her other half.

 _It’s not what Tyler would want from her._ “I’ll give up for you,” she whispered, thinking only of her brother. “I’ll give up for you.” So she pressed her magic into Sans. She drew in his hate, his anger, his pain and suffering before grounding it all into the earth. She shared with him her own peace and care, love.

“ _What are you doing?!”_ the Shade hissed.

“No being deserves to suffer. All deserve peace, even if I need to give it from my own soul in order for them to accept it as an option.” She pulled her hand away and moved over to Flowey, who was only staring at her. She lifted the flower and turned to the exit, striding away, even as it killed her to do so.

~ ~ ~

Sans could still feel her hand resting against his eye. He could only stare, speechless, as this woman walked away from him. Pure white hair drifted down her back, tucked behind sharply pointed ears. Her eyes when she looked into his soul. White sclera, black irises. When she spoke, he saw those sharply pointed canines on the top and bottom of her teeth. She was perfect. She was beautiful. She wasn’t human. _What is she?_ He wanted to tell her the truth but found he was speechless in her presence. _What did she do to me?_

Her magic continued to bubble in his soul, repairing the damage that had been done. And something… Unexpected. Even as he was trapped there by her spell, the magic in his soul thumped. A change began. New muscle and tissue began to grow over his body. Skin formed. The skin was odd, it wasn’t one uniform color. Rather it was bits of color as if she had used pieces from the numerous people she had seen throughout her life. His right hand was dark brown while his left hand was pale. It was… Amazing. It was like he was all of her experiences in one. All of her memories, her hopes, her dreams, everything. He was part of what made her… _Her._

He was stuck kneeling in that hall, lost in everything that he had experienced, when the double doors burst open and Undyne rushed in followed by her exact opposite in all ways.

Dark gray skin. Black short hair. Eyes with pure black sclera and white glowing irises. He snarled at the sight of Sans just as the spell keeping Sans in place dropped.

“Where is my sister?” the man demanded, grabbing Sans’ shirt in his fist. Sans blinked and glanced towards the other door that led to the barrier.

“She’s gone…” he replied numbly. “She… She said she gave up for me.”

~ ~ ~

Tara stood in front of the barrier and closed her eyes. There had been no sign of Asgore. He must have been the monster who had escaped. It was the only explanation. She had prepared for yet another battle, but it turned out that it wasn’t needed in the end. Sans truly was her final roadblock.

She took a breath and walked through the barrier into the sunlight. Flowey gasped at the sight before him. Trees spread out as far as the eye could see. The sun sitting high in the sky. Birds chirped and the scent of nature filled her nose. Off in the distance, somewhere, there was smoke rising in thick white plumes. A show of where Malik had most recently attacked.

“It’s so large…” he said softly.

“It is.”

“What now?”

“Now?” Tara glanced down the mountain-side, seeing what awaited her. A smirking God of War with a small part of his army beside him. The brand tugged her towards him. “You go get that journal to your friend’s mother. And I’m going to figure out a way to get him back in that coffin where he belongs.” She gently scooped Flowey out of her pouch and placed him on the ground.

“Tara, you don’t have to go,” Flowey protested, frowning at her. She gave him a sad smile.

“This is my punishment. It’s what I asked for after all.” She turned her face to the sun and drew in a deep breath, letting the warmth of the sun hit her face. “I’ll remember my promises. All of them.”

She walked until she stood just outside of hearing range from Malik, staring at his large frame. Blonde hair knotted in a tight bun behind his head, burning orange eyes, and muscular form. Her eyes zeroed in on his left hand, the one she knew he had to close before being able to issue a command to her. She just had to keep him from closing that hand. He looked amused as he waited patiently for her to make her next steps.

She lifted her arm to her mouth and bit fiercely into her own skin, wincing as she tore and ripped, allowing her blood to drip freely from the wound. Her blood call screamed out to his army, causing them to waver. Then she made the necessary rune in the air and shoved outwards.

Magic encircled Malik’s left hand, preventing him from closing it as she charged forth, sending out more of her magic to raise a wall of fire between his army and him. Because of her blood’s call, they weren’t able to react fast enough to avoid being split off from him.

“This is pathetic, little one,” Malik stated as he moved his head enough to the side to avoid her punch to his face. “Why bother to fight a losing battle?”

“This is for my brother and my people,” she snarled as she circled her foot in fire and attempted a round-house kick against him. He caught her foot in his right hand and squeezed, causing her to cry out in pain as the bones snapped and her flames sputtered out.

“Ah yes, your brother.” Malik frowned slightly. “I am uncertain as to what happened to him, only that I can no longer feel him through the brand. Perhaps you can enlighten me on his whereabouts.” He tossed her down and kicked her in the stomach. She coughed as her ribs cracked.

“Never.” He didn’t need to know Tyler was dead. That was _her_ pain. She weakly drew a rune into the earth and sent her magic into it. Roots sprung up to wrap themselves around Malik. He simply yanked them away and kneeled beside her to wrap his hand around her throat. Then he lifted her.

She kicked out with her feet as her hands clawed against his hand, the lack of oxygen causing her concentration to fail. The flame wall sputtered out and the magic tendrils keeping his left hand open died.

He closed his left hand into a fist.

“Stop fighting,” he commanded. Her brand burned sharply and all the fight left her. He dropped her to the ground. “Tell me what happened to your brother.”

“He’s dead,” her lips said. He grunted and gestured to his men, who proceeded to tie her hands together behind her back, entwining her fingers together to prevent her from creating any runes.

“A pity. He was a great warrior. I’ll be interested to hear exactly how such a strong warrior managed to die in a place where he had the advantage.” It wasn’t a command, so she kept her mouth shut. He jerked his head. “No point waiting for a dead man. Let’s be off. This place bores me.” He gestured to Tara lazily. “Oh, and bind her wounds. No point in having damaged goods weighing us down the entire way.”

~ ~ ~

Napstablook blinked at the king of monsters, curled up in the corner of his throne room. The large goat-like monster seemed to shake slightly.

“Um, Your Majesty?” Napstablook asked carefully. The monster blinked up at the ghost. “Have you perhaps seen a woman and a flower come through here?”

“I saw the fight,” Asgore said, a tremor in his voice. “That creature could rip us all apart without a thought. Her magic is wild and powerful when untamed. But when she is in control… She is the hope of monster-kind. She could rip down that barrier without a second thought.” He suddenly laughed. “But she won’t. She won’t do it. Not yet. No, no, she can’t. Not with that creature threatening destruction for us all.”

Napstablook didn’t wait to hear more of the king’s jumbled speech, he raced for the barrier. He saw only the last strands of hair as she passed through into the sunlight.

“No! Wait! Tara!” he shouted. She didn’t appear to hear him, even as he slammed into the barrier. He pounded his fists against it, that damned brand still on her shoulder. “Come back! We can take the brand off! Tara!” He watched as she shared a few words with Flowey before placing the flower down. “No!” He watched as she brushed away tears and started her descent down the mountain. “No!”

~ ~ ~

Tyler and Undyne stared at the new creature that was a skeleton. As Tyler listened to the words—trying not to drive his fist into the monster’s new face—he studied the black handprint on the side of the creature’s face.

“Oh shit,” he realized, dropping his grasp on Sans’ shirt and taking a step back. “She shared her soul with you.”

“Is that what she did?” Sans asked, his voice still holding only pure awe. “She took away all the bad and left only light.”

“She’s already through the barrier!” Napstablook shouted in a panic as he suddenly appeared back in the room. Tyler jerked in surprise.

“She didn’t wait for me?”

“I told her I killed you,” Sans explained, rubbing his hands together as he stared at them. Undyne held Tyler back as he lurched for the monster.

“Why the fuck would you do that?!” he demanded, every bit of his blood screaming at him to pound this creature into dust.

“I wanted her to fight me. I wanted her… I wanted her to end me. She was the only one strong enough to do it. Living down here, not being able to leave, it drove me mad. It was driving us all insane. So I was either going to have her soul, have her, or be destroyed by her. There were no other options.” He gave a strangled laugh. “But she chose an option that I didn’t know was there.”

“So we go get her,” Undyne said firmly like it was obvious.

“She didn’t take down the barrier,” Napstablook reported, aggravation in his voice. “She left it up. We can’t get through.”

“She would leave it up… Malik is still free out there,” Tyler mumbled to himself. “She wouldn’t free the monsters just to lead them into another war. It goes against her blood of a peace-keeper.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’ll have to go get her myself.”

“Bring her back here,” Undyne suggested. “If she takes down the barrier, we monsters can fight this threat. We can prove that we deserve a place on the Surface. And Alphys can remove the brand for her.” Tyler nodded.

“You’re going to try and save her alone?” Sans asked, looking shocked.

“I can’t take down the barrier. And none of you can get through the barrier without a human soul. So yeah, I’m going alone.”

“I can pass through the barrier,” Sans said. That earned him three sets of stares. He touched his chest lightly. “She shared part of her soul with me, you said so. I can feel it swirling inside.”

“Why would I ever trust you?” Tyler demanded. “You dropped me in the forest to stumble around for three days.” Sans glared at Tyler.

“Because she needs protection. She gave up fighting for _me_. I… I need to save her. I need to prove myself to her. I need her.” Tyler rolled his eyes. “And if you don’t agree, I’ll just follow you out anyway.” Sans’ left eye glowed red as he gave a grin.

“He’s under her thrall,” Tyler groaned, running his fingers through his hair. He looked to Undyne for help. She shrugged. “Fine, but I’m not doing this with just you.”

“No one else can join you,” Undyne said softly, regret deep in her tone.

“No one from the Underground, sure.” Tyler smiled as he thought of Lillian. “But perhaps another friend who would gladly battle through hell to see Tara safe and sound.”

“Can’t you share your soul with one of us?” Napstablook complained. Tyler spread his hands in apology.

“Sorry, don’t have the magic to do so. But Lillian does. She’s normal, unlike me and Tara.”

“Normal?”

“Yeah. Tara and I are what happens when an elf has twins. You get a light elf and a dark elf. Extremely rare. Elves are naturally magical beings. With twins, however, the dark elf seems to give all of his or her magic to their twin. I may have no magic, but a normal elf does have some naturally.”

“The hell is an elf?” Sans asked.

“That’s our race. We’re elves.”

~ ~ ~

“Just so you know, if you even think of betraying me or her, I will not hesitate to run you through,” Tyler threatened as he and Sans stepped through the barrier into the sunlight. Sans didn’t respond as he stared at the horizon, the sun sinking down behind the treeline. He drew in a deep breath, his red eye flashing as he did so.

“It’s beautiful,” Sans breathed out. He touched his left cheek softly, just over the hand-print that Tara had left behind. Tyler wasn’t certain, but he could’ve sworn he heard the monster whisper a ‘thank you.’

“Alright, let’s go,” Tyler grumbled, making his way down the mountain. “I hope you can keep up. Because I will not be waiting for you.”

~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one was a bit shorter than my usual chapter and also took a bit longer to get out. I've been feeling really under the weather recently, so it was a bit hard finding the energy to write. But here is where we get the confirmation of the twins' race (Elves with my own spin on the race!) and we also see Malik in detail for the first time. I took a bit of inspiration for his look from a couple of different places. Namely mixing together Thor from mythology and Thor from the MCU.  
> As much as I struggle with fight scenes (It's definitely not my strong suit), I did have fun writing both of the fight scenes in this chapter. The first against Sans, where it's very apparent that Tara completely overpowers Sans, and the second against Malik, where it's very apparent that Tara is no match against him alone. In both fights, she knows these facts. She knows she can wipe Sans away without a second thought, but she doesn't because that's not her. Her brother would (and does) want her to remain true to who she is and, in the end, she accepts that and gives up the fight for him, her other half, her brother. Of course, Sans misunderstands and believes she's giving up the fight for him, the skeleton. She also knows she's truly no match against Malik, but she still fights just on the off-chance that maybe she can defeat him and end the war with no further bloodshed.  
> As for the soul-splitting thing, because of the universe I used with Underfell, I felt it fit better for the monsters to kind of be out for themselves. They're not stacking up human souls so one person can remove the barrier, they're all vying against each other to be the first to nab one and escape. So I needed a way for Sans to get out so in the next part (That I do plan on writing!) we don't just suddenly lose all our Underfell characters.  
> But this part is finished. And I'm going to be taking a break to rest up some more. Not sure when the next part will arise, or how I'm going to be uploading it (Tacking it onto here or adding it like a fresh part and linking it), but it will be coming. This is just the conclusion of the Underground section. Next is all going to be centered around the Surface world. I hope you enjoyed reading! <3 Thank you so much for checking it out.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the end for now, but fear not! More will be coming soon!
> 
> And hey, if you like my writing style and story-telling I have a couple of other fics that you may appreciate! Both are for different fandoms: a one-shot I wrote years ago for the Yandere Sim fandom (Which I'm no longer a part of) and a long three arc fic for the Miraculous Ladybug fandom (Which I am still a part of). Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! ♥
> 
> ~Bratist


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